The Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission NIPC), has said that its `One Stop Investment Centre’ (OSIC), was promoting and sustaining foreign and local investments through complaints resolution mechanism.
Mr Emeka Ofor, Director, Strategic Communications of NIPC, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Abuja that the OSIC lab had stopped many foreign investors from leaving Nigeria by mitigating their challenges.
The OSIC, which is coordinated by NIPC, brings together 27 government related agencies in one location to simplify business entry processes by removing administrative and regulatory bottlenecks pertaining to doing business in Nigeria.
Ofor, who was reacting to claims that many foreign companies had left Nigeria due to unfavourable business environment, explained that several reasons could make an investment leave one environment..
He said that companies could fold up or leave an economy due to lack of profit or resources management, not being able to compete with their competitors, or because of government policies.
According to him, the Federal Government, with the support of the Office of the Vice President and the economic management team, set up the OSIC lab to address investors’ complaints and encourage them to stabilise and expand their outfits.
“The reason behind OSIC lab is to attract and sustain businesses. We do not want to hear that an investor left the country simply because he has challenges; we want to hear those challenges and resolve them.
“We always try to tackle the challenge before the investor starts thinking of leaving the country,’’ he added.
He described OSIC lab as a transparent platform for speedy resolution of investment complaints and issues, adding that it had assisted with information and requirements from incorporation to expansion.
“It enables the investors to see somebody to talk to; it could be a problem with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Customs Services, Nigerian Immigration Services, among others.
“We bring everybody together to resolve the problem which helps to stop investors from leaving the country.
“In order to boost investment, NIPC provides information through its intelligence newsletter and website for investors to have a balanced view of investment.”
He said that the investment promotion outfit had also set up a NIPC Business Investment Forum (BIF), which had gone to different countries to sensitise investors on the Ease of Doing Business initiative.
According to him, BIF provides information and profiles of opportunities in Nigeria, not only for foreign investors, but also for domestic investors.
He said that NIPC was into partnership with state governments to ensure that the states were ready to receive investors for economic growth.
“Funding is one of our challenges while getting everybody to work together for economic growth is another challenge. If government can give NIPC more funds to implement its projects, investments will record a huge boost in the country,” he said.
On security, he pointed out that Nigeria was not the only country that was experiencing security challenges, noting that many countries had security problems and were only striving to mange them.
He urged the Nigerian media to project Nigeria better, and cautioned newsmen against exaggerating issues affecting the country. (NAN)
