John Howell
The UK Trade Envoy to Nigeria, John Howell, has recently said that Nigeria Diaspora in the UK, the second largest in the world, is an asset to the UK’s trade and investment activity.
Howell stated this in his speech to the first Nigeria Trade and Investment Road Show in London holding from July 11 to 15.
“In 2013, UK was home to 184,000 of the 1.1 million officially registered first generation Nigerians in Diaspora, second only to the U.S.
According to him, new areas of opportunity are emerging across a variety of sectors as Nigeria develops and grows.
“Opportunities exist across sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, technology, solid minerals, education and training, among others,” he said.
Howell said the successful 2015 presidential election had helped to solidify Nigeria’s democratic credentials, adding with just over a year in government, the administration had made meaningful strides.
“We welcome the Central Bank of Nigeria’s announcement that Nigeria will move to a more flexible foreign exchange rate policy. This is positive news that international business have been waiting for to encourage greater investment in Nigeria,” he said.
Howell said the UK, with its strong historic links to Africa, had so much to offer and pledging to build the business links between the two countries for economic growth.
The UK envoy welcomed Buhari’s commitment to tackling corruption in Nigeria, saying it is critical to the country’s economic prosperity and security, and to reducing poverty and inequality. According to him, corruption creates barriers to doing business and the threat from money laundering and fraud directly impacts the UK.
