The United States Consul General in Nigeria, John Bray, on Monday said that an estimated $1.3 billion American businesses in Nigeria were currently under threat.
Bray, who raised the alarm while speaking at the 2018 International Investment Conference with the theme, “Promoting Investment, Connecting Business” organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) in Lagos, attributed the threats to instability in exchange rate, policy inconsistency, poor electricity, dearth of infrastructure, regulatory and security issues.
The envoy explained further that American investors had issues with the nation’s policy inconsistency tendencies and lack of clear-cut obedience to rule of law to protect investors, noting that the identified threats could discourage investors from coming into the country.
Bray spoke also on the country’s not-too-impressive image which the authorities needed to address, pointing out that although security concerns remain an issue, it is not always enough to discourage genuine investors who only needed to take care of their personal or corporate assets.
On the criticality of good infrastructure to national development, the Consul General canvassed the need for government and private investors to partner in building competitive infrastructure required to connect cities and states and facilitate the movement of goods and services across the country and the ports.
