SAN FRANCISCO, February 02, (THEWILL) – Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Vice President, has revealed that the federal government’s plan to raise a $25 billion Infrastructural Fund from the global community and establish long term bankable projects is gaining traction.
The VP made the declaration has he explained the idea of the Fund a delegation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) that paid a courtesy call in his office on Tuesday.
“We have seen considerable, favorable interests from some sovereign wealth funds and other nations,” he said.
He added that the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority which manages the country’s sovereign wealth fund was leading the project adding that the Infrastructural Fund would create opportunity for commercial partners to participate in the building of the nation’s infrastructures alongside the federal government.
He further disclosed that the China-Exim Bank has agreed to finance the railway projects linking Lagos to Kano and Lagos to Calabar. According to him, “we expect these will generate some economic activities and create jobs.
“This would be done through the establishment of bankable projects that involves such commercial partners.”
The Vice President reiterated the federal government’s determination to raise revenue internally to fund the budget including through an expansion of VAT coverage but not an increase of the VAT rate. At 20% coverage the VAT coverage now, the federal government intends to do much better giving a boost to the country’s tax revenues.
The LCCI delegation, led by Chief Mrs. Nike Akande, declared the support of the Chamber for the federal government’s fight against corruption and acknowledged that there were no easy choices in the current economic situation that the Buhari presidency is having to deal with.
Mrs. Akande, a former federal minister for Industry called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to find a foreign exchange regime that would boost the confidence of investors and remove uncertainly.
The Vice President assured the delegation that the federal government was focussed on finding solutions to the economic situation through a focus on building infrastructure and also diversifying the economy.
Prof. Osinbajo also received a delegation from the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, ALTON.
He noted that the telecom sector was one of the sectors in the economy that has created a significant impact and reiterated federal government’s resolve to develop critical infrastructure in the country including in the power sector which was an area of concern expressed by the operators at the meeting.
According to him, the 2016 budget “has a lot of emphasis on power, infrastructure, and we are hoping to make considerable progress, with fairly consistent spending on infrastructure over the years, we’ll fare better.”
Chairman of the association, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, expressed the concern of telecom operators regarding ‘multiple taxation’ and presented an industry report to the Vice President entitled “The Socio-Economic Impact of Telecoms in Nigeria.”
Responding, the VP encouraged the telecom operators to be diligent in the payment of taxes and avoid delinquency, while suggesting that judicial or legislative options be considered in the resolution of what the operators described as ‘multiple taxation.’
While observing the important role of the telecom industry and acknowledging its contributions to the economy, the Vice President pushed for the cooperation of the telecom companies in national security issues.
Story by Oputah David
