President Bola Tinubu yesterday pledged his administration’s commitment to leveraging on the domestic utilisation, processing and exporting of Nigeria’s massive gas resources as a transition fuel to catalyse the fundamental restructuring of the nation’s economy for growth.
The president made the commitment during a meeting with the board and management of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited at the State House, Abuja.
Tinubu said all encumbrances to the entrepreneurial progress and development of Nigeria’s industrious citizens, as well as any impediments to business practice in the oil and gas sector would be removed.
He said doing so would create more opportunities for Nigerian companies and international partners to thrive on the natural and human resources wealth of Nigeria.
“It is now a collaborative effort in thinking and doing. We will work with all partners to redefine the future of our economy,” the president said.
Tinubu affirmed the position of natural gas as Nigeria’s gateway to sustainable development and prosperity, pledging to build a partnership with investors that will guarantee job opportunities and skill development for Nigerian youths in the overriding best interest of the oil and gas producing environments.
“It is all about growing the pie so that Nigerians will benefit,” the President said, adding that “skill development will help the many restive youths who need to be carried along and employed. Their lives need to be more predictable and prosperous,” he added.
The resident Tinubu appreciated the difficulties faced by the NLNG, particularly on security, affirming that stakeholders, including the host communities and security agencies, will play more central roles in the resolution of troublesome points of contention for more peaceful and profitable operations on a sustainable basis.
In his remarks, the chairman of the board of NLNG, King Edmund Daukuru said the frustration faced by non-government stakeholders in operations is collectively shared with the government.
Daukuru also said the communities should play a greater role in ameliorating the situation, noting that issues of trust between investors and host communities must be properly handled with an emphasis on end-to-end process inclusivity.
Also speaking, the managing director of NLNG, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, hailed the president for setting the tone early and aggressively with bold reforms which will transform the Nigerian economy within a short period.
He further stated that the company has provided a new standard of efficiency in Nigerian public and private sector partnerships, worthy of emulation.
Mshelbila further said the NLNG contributed over $1 billion to new tax revenue generation in 2022, stressing that the feat was achieved despite that the company operated significantly below capacity, due to regional insecurity, in addition to changing industry tax modifications introduced by successive finance act amendments.
