The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has disclosed that funds so far released by the Federal Government for capital projects in the current fiscal year now stand at N1.2 trillion.

She said N750 billion was made available for capital project recently, in addition to N450 billion earlier released in the year.

Speaking in her office in Abuja yesterday, when she received some French investors seeking fresh investments in the country, Adeosun said the Buhari administration remains determined to diversify the nation’s economy by opening the non-oil sectors.

She noted that the robust capital releases were evidence of the government’s plans to take the country to the next level.

She said: “We are chatting a new path and it’s the path to recovery. It’s a new path of the Nigerian economy that we’re trying to build.  It’s not dependent on oil.  We’ve seen opportunities opened up. 75 per cent of our economy is agriculture. “We’re working on a range of reforms. Our currency is fairly priced and stable. We are mobilising revenue from taxes….”

We now have a data that is able to correctly access tax payers.  We see growth in the banking, service, manufacturing and opportunities in the power sector.

“Without infrastructure, it’s difficult for any business to compete in the country. We’ve released N750 billion capital vote, bringing the total of capital released to N1.2 trillion. Earlier, the sum of N450 billion has been released. The battle against corruption is continuing. Investors willing to invest in the country won’t come if we don’t address the issue of corruption and the government is squarely addressing corruption”, she said.

Speaking on behalf of the French delegation, Philip Labonn, said the group was happy to come into the country to see areas of collaboration. 

-Sun