According to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma Infrastructural development remains a critical element in the growth of any economy. The minister made this statement during his meeting with a delegation of the management of The Infrastructure Bank (TIB), led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, in Abuja.
The minister said the decision by the present administration to allocate more resources for infrastructure in the 2016 budget is reasonable, since the infrastructure is the bedrock upon the economy can grow and also create an enabling environment for private sector to grow. “Infrastructure is very necessary to grow the economy of a nation.
There is need to fix infrastructure in order to create an environment for private sector to grow,” he added. He also explained further that more than 60% of the investment needed for the infrastructure development in the country is to be realized from the private sector, adding that government will prepare projects that are bankable so that the private sector can invest in them.
Accordingly, the minister repeated the desire of the Federal Government to build a stronger relationship with The Infrastructure Bank and create an environment for the private sector to prosper by intensifying its collaboration with the bank, pointing out that the collaboration with TIB was very important with government’s effort at diversifying the nation’s economy from crude oil.
He concluded also by saying that there is need to put Nigeria back to work which can only be achieved by increasing production in Agriculture and encouraging Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
