A UNIDO delegation that called on the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola conveyed that it proposed to invest $60m in about nine sectors in Nigeria.A statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing stated that the investment is aimed at boosting the performance of the benefiting sectors.
Jean Bakole, the leader of the UNIDO delegation informed the minister that UNIDO had mapped out about nine sectors in Nigeria for investment. These included agriculture and agro-based businesses, trade and capacity building, housing and construction, infrastructure development, energy and environment, etc. The minister was of the view that instead of spreading the amount thin on many areas, it would be more beneficial to select two or three critical projects to create better impact.He suggested that the money could be invested in a massive industrial complex that would become a model in Africa.
Speaking about the Federal Government’s commitment to agriculture, he said that the efforts were yielding results in terms of higher food output. Though the price of food continued to be high, he hoped that the prices would come down once supply improved. However, with higher food output, he pointed out that Nigeria has started catering not only to local markets but also to international markets such as the North and Central African sub-regions.
