Nigerians in UK Clamour to Invest at Home

  Nigerians in the UK have expressed willingness to key into government's incentives for investment as they recorded 8 million pounds annual remittance.
Mr. Bimbo Roberts, Chairman, Central Association of Nigerians in the UK, (CANUK), made this remark in London on Friday. It was at the first edition of the Nigerian Diaspora Direct Investment Summit (NDDIS) it jointly organised with CANUK.
The incentives for investments are a five-year tax holiday, profit repatriation and lower Value Added Tax (VAT) rate.
Roberts said a lot of Nigerians in the Diaspora wanted to expand their businesses and targeted home as the best investment destination as new incentives had been put in place by the government.
``Nigerians in the Diaspora want to relocate home to do business.  What they need is government's support.  They don't want a system without backing. The aim of the NDDIS is to provide the bridge for soft landing.  We want to change the focus of Nigerians sending home remittance.
``Rather, we want to encourage them to invest and set up businesses back home.  That will also create employment and generate wealth," Roberts said. We are hoping that government will stop chasing foreign direct investment but concentrate on using the Diaspora as a veritable tool for nation building."
Mr. Mustapha Bello, Director-General of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), said agriculture, services, manufacturing and mining sectors were the main areas of focus for investors.
Bello said there had been an overwhelming response from investors on incentives put in place by government to attract investments.