Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, has said that the government will invest $125 million in the Nigeria Special Economic Zone Investment Company (NSEZCO) to bolster manufacturing in the free trade areas.
The minister told journalists on Thursday in Abuja that his activities since he assumed office that NSEZCO, which was put in place under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, would require $500 million investment in the first instance.
He said that the Nigerian government had already released N14.3 billion as part of its 25 percent (about $125 million) investment commitment to the company and that the minister said the remaining 75 percent (about $375 million) would soon be provided by other private investors.
The report by Daily Trust newspaper on Friday aid that the minister stated that N14.3 billion had been transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s account of NSEZCO and that the money was still there intact, waiting for other investors.
He, however, dismissed the insinuation in some quarters that there was an ulterior motive behind the establishment of the company, saying that there was nothing wrong with PPP arrangement in putting in place the company (NSEZCO). ($1=N305)
GIK/APA