The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday called on state governments to concentrate on attracting local investors and boosting small businesses.
The Minister made this call at the Enugu State Investment Summit (tagged Oganiru Enugu), stating that Nigeria needed to transform into a wealth-creating economy.
Represented by Ayo Gbeleyi, the former Governor of Lagos State noted that while the country had earned incomes from high prices of crude oil, “we have not earned it from any appreciable effort creditable to us.”
He observed that in the past Nigeria had been a rent collector, depending on income from what foreign investors make from the resources of the country.
According to Fashola, “Most of our oil resources are managed by foreign oil companies under joint venture agreements where we collect a share of income, from their own operations, drilling, and production of oil, not from our own operation, drilling and production.
“Therefore, we have been largely rent collectors not wealth creators.”
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