The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said the value of state bonds issued and registered by the commission from 1978 to 2022 has risen from N20 million to N1.13 trillion in the debt capital market.“Consequently, we need improved transparency in the infrastructure project generation process, higher certainty concerning the framework conditions for project execution and reduced risk for the operation phase. A long-term infrastructure pipeline and better, broader and more independent cost-benefit analysis are the major levers to pull to accomplish this goal,” he said.
Noting that the economic benefits associated with infrastructure investment can be powerful and sustainable, Ogundimu said increased infrastructure investment could bring a wide range of long-lasting and mutually reinforcing benefits.
“In the short term, spending on infrastructure projects can create jobs and increase real GDP growth, while the ongoing maintenance and repair activities that are necessary to support infrastructure systems can create permanent and well-paying jobs for the middle class,” he said.
Earlier, Managing Director of DataPro, Abimbola Adeseyoju, said Nigeria still has a long way to go to fully reap the benefit from the veritable financing options available to entities, sub-nationals and sovereigns when it comes to infrastructure development.
According to him, “the faster we accelerate infrastructure development on our continent, the quicker we can stop the brain drain and lift our people out of poverty. The issue of infrastructure development is closely tied to the quality of life.”
The goal of the webinar, he added was to provide a yearly platform for all stakeholders within the capital market and others in affiliated sectors of the economy to brainstorm on how the African continent and by extension the West African countries and Nigeria could utilise the value proposition of the credit rating industry as an enabler of economic development and prosperity.