The newly appointed Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund Authority (NSWFA), Mr. Uche Orji, has said he would spend the fund on local infrastructure.
?Orji a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and UBS AG (UBSN) banker? said it was? a crucial cornerstone of the mandate of the fund. Speaking with Bloomberg, he stressed:“This is not saving money for savings sake, this is about impacting the lives of people in a way that will be very fundamental for the future of Nigeria.”
?“It’s a crucial institution for the country and I think it’s important that it went through a robust debate. Our country is making progress, it might not be visible to people, but we’re building foundations and institutions,” he added while speaking on the NSWFA.
Orji, 42, who also worked at JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and most recently spent almost 16 years in the U.S. and Europe, was recently named the head of the SWF by the Minster of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Nigeria’s 36 state governors challenged the creation of the fund in a lawsuit at the Supreme Court, saying it violated a constitutional requirement that all government revenue must be shared among federal, state and local governments. They later agreed to back plans to appoint the wealth fund’s board.
“I’m actually very close to many of the sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, I’ve known many of them for many years and I’ve watched them grow,” he said.