Joseph Bakare
Chairman, Allen Le & Partners, International Investment Consulting Joint Stock Company, Hanoi City, Vietnam, Mr. Allen Le Nam, has said that he will mobilise other foreign investors and their associates to invest multi-billion dollars in projects in Nigeria.
According to a statement on Tuesday by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Development (SV-NED) HRH, Queen Mother, Amb. Chief Amina Temitope Labinjo-Ajayi (JP), Nam spoke during his official visit to Nigeria.
This is as the federal government has expressed delight over Nam’s visit and commended Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Silicon Valley Nigeria Economic Development (SV-NED) HRH, Queen Mother, Amb. Chief Amina Temitope Labinjo-Ajayi (JP) over her dogged efforts to attract foreign investors to Nigeria.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, after a meeting with NAM and SV-NED management also said it was still not time to reveal details of their meeting but added that he was delighted over the visit.
Nam harped on the private sector as the cornerstone for economic development of any country.
He expressed the hope that Nigeria will be one day like Canada and Vietnam. He also said Nigerians were friendly, adding that he was impressed by the reception he received at the airport and the behaviour of the people who he met.
He said: “This is my first time. But on how much I am planning to mobilise, I can tell you after, but it’s going to be multi-billion dollars around with my investor, my partners, and my associates.
“Hopefully, five years from now, the airport will be transformed. If you come to Vietnam right now, never mind the next two years, you’ll see about five, six stars airports being built. It’s going to be grand opening in the next two years in Hanoi. Hanoi is already done.”
Labinjo-Ajayi said the coming of Nam is a dream fulfilled. She stated that they are coming to invest in Nigeria under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
She said: “They are coming to invest heavily under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. My brother, Asiwaju Tinubu, is trying everything to the best of his ability. And he’s now concentrating on the private sector. I belong to the private sector. We can’t rely only on the government. We have to get the private sector to bring us up.
Chief Executive Officer, Allen Lee and Partners. Mr. Kingsley Bede Onyeocha, said the delegation came to support growth in Nigeria.
He noted that there are great potential, huge human and mineral resources in the country.
Onyeocha said: “Everything is pretty good so far. So from the airport, what have you seen, how are the reception of the people? It’s amazing, right from arrival, right from when we visited them. A lot of changes actually from the last time I was here.
“So there’s a lot of changes here. How, positive or negative? Positively, to be very honest. I was told now there is a rail that makes for the shuttle to town.
“I’ve never seen that here before. But other than that, everything is pretty good. We’ve met amazing people. And we are glad we are here. I’m here with my partner, Mr. Allen. And this is Mama D. So, she’s the one who surveys the land for us.
“All we are here is to see how we can be part of the development here. So that’s just basically what we came for. I know Nigeria is a good place. Hospitable, hard working people. We just want Nigeria to grow. We are proud to be part of developments that are upcoming in different sectors. So, we’ve made a lot of inquiries. We’ve contacted different sectors as well.
“But that is what we are here for. So, this is our first point of arrival. And we’ll take it from here. Nigeria is not lacking manpower. Nigeria is not lacking human resources. All we need is direction. So, we have human capacity. We just need direction.
“So, basically, we’ve seen a lot of properties that can be developed. We’ve seen things that can take place here. That is why we are here in terms of support. The infrastructure that already exists. And we want to help build it. So, as it is, it’s just to invest. So, we know the human capital is here. That’s just what it is.”