Blinken Asks Nigeria to Tackle Corruption and Foreign Exchange Crisis

The visiting United States secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, has asked Nigeria to tackle the issue of corruption and its foreign exchange crisis.

He said that US companies and investors are not coming to Nigeria because of corruption and the difficulty of repatriating profits from the country.

Blinken stated this while addressing the state house correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday at the presidential villa in Abuja.

He acknowledges the economic potential of Nigeria but says its long-term challenges must be overcome to unlock its full potential. The US Secretary of State said US companies already in Nigeria want to be given a fair and level playing field.

Blinken, however, said he was aware of efforts by the new governor of Nigeria’s central bank, Oluyemi Cardoso, to resolve the challenges of profit repatriation.

He also cited difficulty repatriating capital as an impediment to investment that Nigeria’s government should address.

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The statement reads in part, “This one is what I’m hearing. What I’ve seen is a very real interest in work here in Nigeria investment.

“And in so doing, create, create new jobs, new opportunities, and even new industries. This is a big focus of our binational position in the work that I mentioned as well as there remain some impediment systems.

“We hear from our business community. That I think is the standard way of maximising those opportunities. One is that the repatriation of capital is important.

“I know the central bank governor is building on that. And second is the ongoing effort to combat corruption because companies that come in and invest, want to make sure that they’re going to be investing with a fair and level playing field.

“And Corruption, of course, is a big impediment. So having said all of that, I do think we’re seeing a little bit when we had the Africa Leader Summit hosted by President Biden.