Voluntary principles on security, human rights will boost Nigeria’s investment drive- Stakeholders
The Nigerian Working Group on the Voluntary Principles (VPs) on Security and Human Rights has advocated for the implementation of the VPs as a tool to boost investment into the country.
They made the call on Monday during a one-day validation workshop on Regional Baseline Study on VPs held in Gombe on Monday.
Dr Joel Bisina, the Executive Director of Leadership Initiative for Transformation and Empowerment (LITE-Africa) said implementing VPs remained key not only to promoting peace and understanding, but as an enabler for local and foreign direct investment.
Bisina said that VPs were also mechanisms that some countries had used to strengthen their foreign direct investments to create enabling environment for people to invest.
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According to him, VPs have a huge impact on trade and investment, agriculture, and mining, noting that most of the problems “we deal with have to do with excesses of security operations in extractive environments.
“This is why we are pushing for the country to embrace the VPs and in no distant time, Nigeria will sign on because progress has been made in that regard.
“ It will go a long way in building and strengthening Nigeria’s reputation internationally and creating that assurance because there are international funding and financial institutions who for you to get credit or loan from them, companies must demonstrate their membership.
“For instance, International Finance Corporation, they are observers of the Voluntary Principles Initiative, for you to access credit from them, you must be implementing the Voluntary Principles.
“ I want to encourage the government and stakeholders to sign on to the VPs because the benefits that are accruable far outweigh the misgivings that people have about the VPs,” he said.
Bisina who is also the co-chair of the Nigerian Working Group on the VPs said implementing the principles would save corporations of litigation and cost associated with such litigation.
“When rights are violated, people are bound to seek redress and they go to court, damages are awarded and those damages, some of them run into millions,” he said.
On her part, Dr Erisa Danladi, Executive Director, Motherhen Development Foundation urged the government to formalise Nigeria’s membership of the VPs to boost investments into the country.
Danladi said since President Bola Tinubu was concerned about driving more investments into the country, she stated that the VPs remained a key tool to creating the right environment for such investments to come into the country.
A participant, Mr Bello Galoji, whose company is into mining in Bauchi State said since the Federal Government is keen about diversifying the economy, it was important for the government to harness the benefits of the VPs for the growth of the economy.
Our correspondent reports that the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs) were developed in 2000 by governments, companies in the extractive and energy sectors (companies), and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The VPs are designed to help extractive companies maintain the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and, when applicable, for international humanitarian law.
The workshop is enabled by DCAF Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, UK Foreign
Commonwealth and Development Office jointly with the Peace and Human Rights Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs through the DCAF Security and Human Rights Mechanism (SHRIM).
