In a bid to woo German Investors, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has listed the energy and solid mineral sectors as key stimulants of his administration’s economic revival programme.
The President said this in Abuja while playing host to the visiting German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the State House. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President was quoted to have assured the German leader of Nigeria’s preparedness to expand the frontiers for investors in the sectors.
President Tinubu was reported to have told Steinmeier that activation of the latent potential in the energy sector remains central to Nigeria’s development. He further assured his visitor of the Nigerian government’s determination to remove administrative bottlenecks in the energy and solid minerals sectors.
“I welcome Mr President to Nigeria and the State House. Your visit is a significant milestone. And I must thank you for the warm reception when I visited Germany.
“We need each other, and you emphasised this in our private discussion. Nigeria is going through a transformative period and trying to align with the best strategy and practices on good governance globally.
“We like our relationship with you as friends and partners. Germany is well-industrialized and renowned for its sustainable infrastructure.
“I am saying again that Nigeria is ready and open for business. As you mentioned, you are ready to support Nigeria in the energy sector, which you have long been doing. Also, in alternative energy, we have the sun, and you have the technology. We should continue our partnership in every way that we can,” Tinubu was quoted as saying.
The statement emphasised that President Tinubu has directed the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Solid Minerals, Power and Industry, Trade and Investment to work closely with investors to develop the energy sector.
“I will re-emphasise again and again; we must enhance the possibility of becoming highly industrialised by exploring opportunities in our natural resources,” he added.
According to the statement, the country’s reforms had been designed to bring long-term prosperity through sustainable and dependable frameworks.
“We are synchronising to ensure a grounded and flourishing partnership that brings prosperity to our people. We know that Germany has the capacity and is involved in regional cooperation and collaboration.
“We are glad that we are trading in Euro with you. We are more transformative than before. We have made changes in the way we do business. It is now easy in and easy out for investors. We are projecting investment in gas and alternative energy.
“Our transformation involves natural gas. We are leveraging solid minerals, particularly lithium. We have a dynamic, anxious-to-learn and flexible youth population.
“We have many Nigerian students who were trained in Germany. We want domestic investment that will promote growth in our economy. Equally, we need skill development,” Tinubu said.
The President told the visiting German leader that Small and Medium Enterprises were also being repositioned to play a more central role in development, assuring that bottlenecks to investments had been removed.
In his remarks, the German President was reported to have assured President Tinubu that there were more specialised companies in Germany that would be encouraged to look towards Nigeria for expansion opportunities beyond the big brands in the energy sectors.
“There is a growing interest in Nigeria on the German side beyond those who are already here, like Siemens. Other companies are looking for investment opportunities, especially in renewable energy,” he was quoted as saying.
In his presentation, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, noted that Germany has a dedicated one billion Euro fund for diversifying the supply chain in renewable energy, and that modifying the conditions could easily accommodate the opportunities in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
Alake identified the critical minerals for energy transition as cobalt, nickel and lithium, which he said were readily available in Nigeria.
“We are asking that German companies can come in under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President that has sanitised the environment, enhanced security with a new architecture around solid minerals, created tax incentives and waivers for important equipment and provided opportunities for joint ventures,” he said.
According to the Nigerian government, pre-feasibility studies had been concluded, even as it urged German investors to look to Nigeria for diversification of the energy supply chain.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole; and Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, were also said to be presented at the business meeting.
“The business delegation from Germany and their Nigerian counterparts commended President Tinubu for his long-term vision for the economy and his courageous steps in repositioning Nigeria for greater prosperity by making the economy more globally competitive with streamlined foreign exchange and improved ease of doing business,” the statement added.
