*Want him to appoint core industry professionals as ministers, heads of agenciesAs Nigeria’s president-elect, Senator Bola Tinubu, readies to be inaugurated today as the country’s 16th president, some economic policy analysts and oil and gas operators have charged him to take priority steps to reposition the nation’s oil and gas industry in order to attract more Foreign Direct Investments and increase earnings from the sector.
During the 2023 electioneering campaigns, Tinubu, who won the election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress had vowed to ramp up Nigeria’s oil production from the low of 1.5 million barrels per day in March 2023 to 2.6mbpd by 2027. He said he was sincerely hoping that the incoming president had used the interregnum between when he was announced as the winner of the election and his inauguration today to assemble a team of professionals and technocrats who will support him to deliver the country from the doldrums.Commenting specifically on the petroleum sector, Salami said Tinubu must reposition the sector and must run it, “in a world class manner, akin to what we have in Saudi Arabia or in North America and Europe.
This, he explained, would assist to stimulate competition, reduce production cost and make Nigerian businesses more competitive, particularly, in view of the large market offered on the back of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement . “His promise to grow our gas production by 20 per cent and complete critical gas infrastructure by 2027 is commendable. However, he must walk the talk! I would expect him to challenge his MPR to achieve these lofty goals without excuses, as they align with our ESG strategy of using gas as a transition fuel towards achieving net zero carbon emission by 2060.
He said resolving the challenges would enable Nigeria to at least transmit and distribute the 12,000MW installed generating capacity that the country currently has, which would be a prelude to more significant investment in the off-grid and renewable energy solutions. Salami added, “Also I think that the removal of oil subsidy in June is feasible. However, we will need to resolve a few matters to facilitate the policy.
“When that happens, producers will sell at competitive prices. The product may be expensive in the very short run, but ultimately, in the long run, equilibrium will be reached, and consumers will be the better for it.”
Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: LeadershipNGA - 🏆 4. / 77 Read more »