According to report, The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, has called for increased collaboration by Nigerians in the Diaspora for the nation to achieve stronger economic growth targets. He made the call during the 4th Edition of the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit 2021 organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) yesterday. The hybrid event which held at the State House Banquet Hall, Aso Villa Abuja and virtually had in attendance the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and state governors.
Delivering his remarks on the year’s theme: “Partnership and Linkages for Post COVID-19 Economic Growth”, Onyeagwu said the aptness of the theme of the summit, underscores Nigeria’s need for robust growth following the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that triggered severe macroeconomic shocks.
He commended the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for leading with policies that create an enabling environment for investment in Nigeria, such as the “Naira 4 Dollar Scheme”, which contributed to boosting diaspora remittances by providing incentives for recipients of international money transfers.
According to him, this and other policies encourage senders and recipients to channel inflows through the official market, knowing that they will not be shortchanged.
The Zenith Bank boss also passionately highlighted Nigeria’s enormous investment potential, especially the nation’s huge market and youthful population, which is a veritable source of labour and a consuming population.
Highlighting the need for partnership and collaboration of Nigerians in the diaspora to achieve Nigeria’s economic growth targets, particularly during these challenging times, Onyeagwu said that the diaspora community plays a critical role in their home country’s economic growth and development across the world. He noted that Nigeria has enormous potential to attract huge diaspora inflows, most of which coming through informal channels. These remittance inflows and investments, which are counter-cyclical, help in ameliorating foreign exchange challenges as the funds form a significant buffer for the country’s foreign reserves.
