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Immediate past Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has canvassed public and private participation in funding infrastructure in the country.
Speaking at the launch of ‘Frontier Capital Markets and Investment Banking: Principles and Practice from Nigeria’, a book authored by Temitope Oshikoya and Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, in Lagos, Fashola urged private individuals, investors and stock managers to be involved in economic development through infrastructure development to complement government’s effort.
He said despite the country’s poor funding and increased budgetary system, there were clear indications of development.
“In the last few years, Nigeria’s commitment to public spending has essentially doubled at the federal government level. The national budget has increased from N4 trillion to N8 trillion.
“The commitment to spend more on infrastructure is something everyone should work on because the quality of infrastructure will ultimately determine the quality of lifestyle, and that commitment has linkages with frontier capital market and sourcing of funds to avoid deficit financing, which this book has done justice to shedding more light on,” he said.
Durosinmi-Etti, former Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of the defunct Skye Bank, explained that the N8 trillion pension fund could be channelled to long-term infrastructure for development.
The book, which was reviewed by MD/CEO, Vetiva Capital, Mr. Chuka Eseka; Managing Partner, Olaniwun Legal Practitioners, Prof. Konyin Ajayi (SAN); and Prof. Emmanuel Nwokoma of the Department of Economics, University of Lagos, contains 16 chapters with five parts which discuss the role of capital markets and investment banking in Nigeria, the largest frontier market economy in the world.
It provides a synopsis of the economic attractiveness, financing systems, intermediation, capital markets, as well as the regulatory framework within a frontier market.
While launching the book, the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, described the book as timely.
“This book is timely at this moment and I recommend it for all students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and to all institutions and investors in Nigeria,” he said.
