President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday assured international investors that he was poised to solve the challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, having worked in the sector himself.
Consequently, he said Nigeria was open for business now, more than ever.
“We know the industry. We grew up in it. We are positioned to solve the problems, and we are pragmatic, and we will solve the problem,” Tinubu told a delegation consisting of the global leadership of the oil and gas transnational giant, ExxonMobil, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Tuesday titled ‘“Nigeria has the resources and the leadership, we have never been more ready for business,” President Tinubu told global energy industry.’
Tinubu asserted that Africa’s giant was no longer settling for crumbs and leftovers on the investment agenda of the world’s most prolific energy conglomerates, saying “Nigeria has never been more ready for business than it is now.”
He said following an illustrious private sector career as a professional accountant in the oil & gas industry, he had proven his capacity to take difficult decisions as President and was best prepared to solve problems and crush all bottlenecks standing in the way of new and large-scale capital flowing into Nigeria’s oil & gas industry.
“The knotty issues require direct supervision on my part.
“Despite many contending obligations, I will sit down and oversee the process of removing these encumbrances to job and wealth creation for the Nigerian people,” he asserted.
ExxonMobil President of Global Upstream Operations, Liam Mallon, pledged new production of nearly 40,000bpd in its Nigerian operations in phase one of a new investment push in Nigeria.
Mallon said this commitment was his company’s response to President Tinubu’s commitment on behalf of Nigeria.
“What you told us was that your team would collaborate with us, and that has proven true.
“We have made significant progress since we last met. We are growing our production, and we are working hard on expanding the deepwater production.
“We appreciate your efforts, and we will respond in kind. The time is right. Thank you for your leadership,” the ExxonMobil President stated.
