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| Chief Financial Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mr. Umar Ajiya stresses a point at a panel session themed, “Accelerating Investment, Enabling Industry Growth, Meeting Energy Demand”, during the ongoing 2024 Nigeria Oil Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week), in Abuja. |
This call was made by the NNPC Ltd Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Umar Ajiya, at the ongoing 23rd Nigeria Oil Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) in Abuja.
Ajiya argued that due to global financial institutions' reluctance to finance oil and gas projects because of environmental concerns, there is a need for institutions like Afreximbank and the proposed Africa Energy Bank to fund energy infrastructure projects.
He emphasized that creating an investor-friendly environment is not solely the government's responsibility, but everyone's, from immigration and customs officers to the media and judiciary, as their conduct influences investors' perception of the country.
The CFO listed the Gwagwalada, Kaduna, and Kano Independent Power Plants as some of the key energy projects in NNPC Ltd's portfolio that investors can capitalize on. He also highlighted the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the recent enactment of three Executive Orders in the sector by the President as practical steps to attract investment.
Speaking at a panel session themed, “Accelerating Investment, Enabling Industry Growth, Meeting Energy Demand”, Wednesday, July 3, 2024, the CFO further noted that the key to resolving the paradox of endemic energy poverty in the midst of abundant energy resources in Nigeria is to create an enabling environment to aggressively attract investment into the energy sector.
He listed the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the recent enactment of three Executive Orders in the sector by the President as practical steps by the Federal Government to provide fiscal incentives required to attract investment.
In a press release signed by Olufemi O. Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Ajiya also contended that the task of creating an investor-friendly environment was not for government alone, stressing that citizens, right from the Immigration and Customs Officers, who welcome would-be investors at entry ports to the driver who conveys them to hotels and meeting places and even the media and the judiciary, by their respective conduct, influence investors’ perception of the country.
“There’s room for everyone to make sure that investment comes back to Nigeria,” he declared.
The CFO listed Gwagwalada, Kaduna, and Kano Independent Power Plants as some of the key energy projects in the stable of the national oil company that investors can take advantage of.
Other members of the panel which was moderated by the Group Head, Energy, First Bank, Ms. Oluwatoyin Aina, include: the President, African Export-Import Bank who was represented by the bank’s Regional Chief Operating Officer, Anglophone West Africa, Mr. Eric Monchu Intong; Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)), Mr. Oluwole Adama; Managing Director, Energy and Natural Resources, Standard Chartered, Ade Adeola; Vice President, Investment, Africa Finance Corporation, Ms. Taiwo Okwor; and the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, who was represented by the Commission’s Deputy Director, Policy Advocacy, Mr. Abayomi Salami.
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