Johannesburg – The rise in number of opposition parties in the incoming National Assembly in Nigeria will create more watchdogs in the system and enhance the fight against corruption, Ms Diana Games, Honorary Chief Executive Officer, South Africa Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, said on Tuesday.

Games spoke  on the sidelines of a seminar to create more awareness to investors on Exporting to Nigeria in Johannesburg.

“The more of such people you have, the more watchdog type of role you get,” she said, noting that the improvement in the electoral system was bound to attract more foreign investors into the country.

“The elections were   a lot more real and well organized last week and we see politicians wanting to do the right things.

“What is positive is that you are getting a real rise in the opposition numbers that’s very important for Nigeria going forward and will have a good impact in terms of controlling corruption,” she said.

Games said that the mix in the parliament, coupled with the likely continuity of President Goodluck Jonathan after the elections will create a good atmosphere for foreign investors in terms of stability.

“All  of this is good for business,” she said, noting that the novel programmes in the petroleum and power sector will be able to take more root if there was continuity at the Presidential level.

Games said that that Nigeria’s huge population made it a very attractive market and the government could put in better processes and infrastructure to make the situation better.

She said that exporters complained of multiple agencies at the nation’s ports and there was duplication of some functions, noting that tackling such bottlenecks will further ease the plight of investors.

Mr Marius Schoeman, Group Executive, Special Projects of Business Connecxion, one of the investment companies that attended the seminar, said though the present election period in Nigeria creates uncertainty for investors, the country remained a gold mine for investors.

He told NAN that based on his personal experience, things were actually changing even in the area of doing business in Nigeria but investors need to have a positive outlook to notice them.

He said his company came into Nigeria with a projection that they will begin to make profit in five years but by the second year they were already making profit.

“I believe one day that our operations in Nigeria will be bigger than our operation in South Africa,” he said.

He said that South Africa’s export to Nigeria based on 2010 figures, is merely short of two per cent of the 34 billion US Dollar exports to Nigeria, meaning that South Africa is still a small player which gave room for more improvement.

Schoeman said the main challenge for investors going into Nigeria is understanding the local requirements, key stakeholders and import agencies among others.

He also said that local employees in Nigeria have amazing talent, intellect and positive attitude which makes a big difference.
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Earlier at the seminar, South African Representative of First bank of Nigeria, Mr Adenrele Oni, assured the investors that the post election business climate in the country will provide a better atmosphere for their business.

He said that the government had many attractive incentives for pioneer companies and urged them to take advantage of enormous resources in the country which are yet to be exploited.

The investors were educated on the laws guiding export business in the country and urged to be abreast of them so as to avoid delays and avoidable losses. (NAN)