The Federal Government has lined up series of incentives to strengthen investors’ confidence and guarantee return on investment in the power sector, the Minister of State for Power, Hon. Mohammed Wakil, has disclosed.
Speaking at a Power Africa event organized by the United States Department of Commerce in Miami, Floroda, the United States of America, Wakil, who was a keynote speaker, said Nigeria has provided a $300 million partial risk guarantee, domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria, and with the World Bank as a major push to protect investors.
The minister, who attended the event at the invitation of the United States Government, also told the gathering of leaders of firms and conglomerates in the power sector that there is tax holidays and waivers for power equipment importation for generation, transmission and distribution.
In a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Olawale Rasheed, the minister assured investors that return on their investment is guaranteed, even as he further announced that very attractive tariffs regime has been put in place for investors in the renewable energy sector.
He told the gathering: “The Government of Nigeria has achieved what industry experts described as one of the most holistic, ambitious and transparent privatizations of power assets in recent times. The distribution and generation assets have all been successfully handed over to the private sector since November 2013.”
On the Power Africa initiative sponsored by the United States, Wakil announced that “the Government of Nigeria is poised to take advantage of the initiative as a strategic opportunity for securing the much-needed investment in the power sector,” adding that “at implementation level, a Power Africa desk has since been established at the Federal Ministry of Power to serve as a one stop shop for stakeholders in the industry”.
The Power Africa Desk, he said, would serve to attract investments to Nigeria’s power sector based on funding and technical assistance provided by the Government of the United States of America.
The US Department of Commerce also in a press statement announced that “at the Summit, prominent government and business leaders, including Nigeria’s Minister,CEOs of Africa’s major power companies, and representatives from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and USAID, joined to share opportunities for accessing the energy sector in African markets.”
The department announced further that “next month, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker will embark on a trade mission to Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia to promote U.S. exports to Africa by helping U.S. companies launch or increase their business in the energy sector in West Africa.”
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