Mr. Tolu Osinibi, Executive Director of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Capital Market Limited, has announced the bank’s plan to spend about $400 million to Nigeria’s power sector financing.
The ED made the announcement while speaking at the Power Investors’ Summit Nigeria held in Lagos last weekend. He added that the FCMB Group is also considering investing about $200 million into the power sector going forward.
He said FCMB’s commitment to the power sector is extensive in scope because of the Group’s commitment to the country’s development. He added that before the recent privatization of the country’s power assets, the group has been funding small capital power projects.
“Nobody from outside Nigeria is going to come and fix the power sector for us. I believe it is a case of every individual and every institution that has the means and skills to contribute towards the growth of the power sector to reposition it. So within FCMB, as a group, our focus is that the sector is a place where we need to allocate resources so as to create a larger market for ourselves.”
He maintained that the ongoing privatization of power assets would have a multiplier effect on the economy, saying that the impact of the exercise would be felt mostly in terms of job creation.“For FCMB, we would be there; we would look for the best transactions. It is a long journey; power is not something you do in one, two or three years. Our policy is that we will see out to firms who realize it is a long-term journey and we will do everything we can in bringing our skills and expertise to help them realize their objectives.” he explained.
