The Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima has reiterated Nigeria’s readiness to do business with the world, noting that the ongoing reforms undertaken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration across various sectors are unlocking new investment opportunities.
The Vice President stated this on Tuesday when he received a delegation from the Advanced Energy Partners (AEP) led by the Chairman of the consortium, Abu Ibrahim, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa.
He said: “There is no better time to invest in Nigeria. You have come at the right time where we have been blessed with committed leadership,”.
VP Shettima, who outlined the abundant resources and potentials across Nigeria, said that the President Tinubu led administration, through specific policies and interventions, is creating the enabling environment for the economy to grow and attract foreign direct investments.
“Be rest assured that you have invested your trust in the right nation. Nigeria is ready for business. We have crossed the Rubicon and are now on the path of sustainable development,” he told the delegation.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Abu Ibrahim, said the team was on ground in Nigeria to, among other things, explore major opportunities for investment in the upstream oil industry and sectors of the economy.
The Vice President of China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), Mr QIANG Wenyu, said the visit was in furtherance of an earlier meeting with President Tinubu in September 2024 in Beijing. He reiterated the company’s commitment to collaborating with Nigerian partners in key sectors of the economy.
He said the company was prepared to fulfill its earlier pledge to deepen cooperation and expand its operations in Nigeria, noting that “for the past one year, we have been acting on that.”
He listed NORINCO’s core areas of operations to include energy, oil & gas, defence industries and mining, among others. He noted that the company’s annual turnover grew last year to $30 billion, maintaining a strong reputation in its core fields of operations.
Commendation
Also, the CEO of Horizon Energy Abu Dhabi, Ms. Mahra Alsuwaidi, applauded the leadership of President Tinubu, attributing the company’s renewed interest to invest in Nigeria to the country’s current leadership.
She said that the firm’s confidence in the current administration is reflected in the management of key institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), among others.
In the same vein, the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Musabbeh Al Shamsi, urged the consortium to waste no time in investing in Nigeria, describing the country as the “right place” for foreign investment.
He described the President Tinubu-led administration as the “right government”, adding that Tinubu has strengthened Nigeria’s economic and bilateral ties with the UAE, pushing non-oil trade between both countries to $4.3 billion in 2024.
Lateefah Ibrahim