By Abdullahi M. Gulloma Abuja

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a memo seeking Nigeria’s membership of the African Trade Insurance Agency to provide risk guarantee for investment coming into and going out of the country.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, at the end of the council meeting in Abuja.

She said joining the agency would provide risk guarantee, sovereign guarantee and risk mitigation for the country.

"FEC approved for Nigeria to rejoin the African Trade Insurance Agency. This is an agency that is out to provide risk guarantee for private investors coming into Nigeria as well as exporters from Nigeria.

"It will provide risk guarantees so instead of projects asking for sovereign guarantees, we will be able to provide that risk mitigation through the African Trade Insurance Agency. Many other countries are already members so Nigeria will be also joining.

"This agency has an A rating international and is able to guarantee long term projects. So what we see as a result of this is that there will be increased level of investments particularly PPP where every often the investors want some guarantee from the government, instead the government issuing sovereign guarantee directly, this agency will step in and issue it. It is very similar to MIGA which Multi-lateral Insurance Guarantee Agency that is owned by the IFC," she said.

The minister said the council also reviewed the recent exit from recession and described it as an indication that the government is moving in the right direction.

Also speaking, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said the council FEC was encouraged by the economic growth rate of 0.55 per cent which aided the country’s exit from recession.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suliaman Adamu, said there was no cause for alarm over the issue of Niamey flooding.

He said rainfall leading to flooding could not be stopped, but that government would take preventive measures.

"I brief council on the incident of flood. Niamey the capital of Niger Republic has put the country on alert. The levels of the River in Niamey has increased considerably and the country is at alert at the moment.

"That is an indication that there will be more flood into the river Niger downstream towards Kanji, Jabba and of course by the time you come down on confluence at Lokoja the situation will be compounding because you are already aware of the flood situation in Benue.

"The good thing is that we have an observatory in Niamey and another one in Lokoja to give us that real time, per second updates on the water level," he said.

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