The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has called for the establishment of more local institutions in Nigeria and Africa with the capacity to provide funding for energy projects to tackle energy deficiency.
Mr. Umar Ajiya, the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC Ltd., called on Wednesday at the ongoing 23rd Nigeria Oil Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) in Abuja.
Speaking at a panel session with the theme, “Accelerating Investment, Enabling Industry Growth, Meeting Energy Demand,” the CFO argued that in the face of the reluctance of global financial institutions to finance oil and gas projects as a result of environmental concerns, there was a need for the development of more institutions like Afreximbank and the proposed Africa Energy Bank to finance energy infrastructure projects.
In a statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Ajiya 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 the fiscal incentives required to attract investment.
Ajiya also contended that the task of creating an investor-friendly environment was not for the 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’ perceptions of the country.
“There’s room for everyone to make sure that investment comes back to Nigeria,” he said.
The CFO listed Gwagwalada, Kaduna, and Kano Independent Power Plants as some of the key energy projects in the national oil company’s stable 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; the Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Oluwole Adama.
The panel also included Ade Adeola, the Managing Director of Energy and Natural Resources at Standard Chartered, Ms. Taiwo Okwor, the Vice President of Investment at Africa Finance Corporation, and Mr. Abayomi Salami, the Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, who served as the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer.
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