An economic policy analyst, Mr Tilewa Adebajo, on Wednesday said Nigeria needs to get back on the JP Morgan Bond Index to give foreign investors the confidence to invest in the country.
Mr Adebajo also noted that though the federal government has laid down policies to strengthen the economy, he expressed worry, that “no matter how good the policies are, if the timing is wrong, you will lose the confidence of the investors and the financial market”.
He further noted that it is important for government to articulate its policy on a general level, in terms of the type of policy it is facing.
He went back memory lane to when Nigeria was listed on the index, saying “there was a time when we had close to $25 billion of Foreign Direct Portfolios Investment in the country, but because of the misalignment of these policies, most of these monies left.
“At the time we left the JP Morgan Index – when they gave us the warning – we didn’t engage them and we are paying for that now”, he said, maintaining that “if you want to see $25 billion back into this economy, then we have to take steps to get back on to that JP Morgan Bond Index”.
Mr Adebajo further stressed need for private sector investment locally and foreign direct investment to be able to assist government with the gap that they need to manage.
He also maintained that “one of the key structural issue we need to address is the Petroleum Industry Bill”, adding that “if you pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, then we will see investments, not only in oil, but more importantly in gas, because it is the gas we need to do the power.
“So if you get that Petroleum Industry Bill right, the foreign investors will come”, he said.
