Power, Works & Housing minister, Babatunde Fashola has given an indication the Federal Government may not cancel contracts awarded under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Fashola spoke at the weekend during the Nigerian pension industry strategy implementation roadmap retreat. He said that revoking the concessions, especially those awarded to local investors, would send the wrong signal to the international community about the nation’s credibility in honoring contract awards. This certainly reduces investor’s confidence in doing business with the nation.
The minister was displeased over the culture of every successive government revoking contracts of previous regimes saying that the practice destroys investor confidence in an economy.
According to Fashola, “The question I ask is this: if we needlessly cancel concessions granted to our own people, what incentive and assurance do we give to outsiders to invest if the investment of our own people is not secure in their land. If you consistently horse-whip your own children in your home, why should I let my own children visit your home?”
“It weakens the economy, it frustrates enterprise and leads to poverty and unemployment through job losses, loans taken from banks are endangered and the knock-on effect is more than we often can see on the horizon, because the bad word spreads around the global investment community very quickly like wildfire.
“Yes it may be the case, sometimes, that the past government did not act in good faith, or even compromised or was even negligent. The answer is not cancellation, if the contract is performing; the answer is renegotiation.
Curated from Daily Trust