March 21, (THEWILL) – The President Bola Tinubu administration has attracted $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments into the real sectors of the nation’s economy since its assumption of office.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this at an Iftar (Breaking of Fast) and interactive session with media executives and practitioners organised by his Ministry at the Armani Events Center, Kano, on Wednesday.
Idris said these investment commitments – covering various sectors including manufacturing, telecoms, healthcare, oil and gas, and others – are already being realised.
He said the Nigerian economy grew by 3.46 percent (year-on-year) in Q4 2023, compared to 2.54 in the preceding quarter, which he said was a better performance than anticipated.
He said capital importation into Nigeria increased by 66 percent in Q4 2023, compared to Q3 2023, reversing a 36 percent decline in the previous quarter.
The Minister also informed the gathering that President Tinubu’s new oil and gas policy reforms programme would, when implemented, generate a billion cubic feet per day additional gas supply, create 2.3 million jobs, boost GDP by $17 billion, and compress Nigeria’s oil and gas contracting cycle from 38 months to 6 months.
He said new tax incentives being implemented have the potential to attract up to $10 billion in new oil and gas investment, and that the new presidential policy directive would bring down operating costs for oil and gas operations in Nigeria; currently 40% higher than global average.
The Minister said enhanced security measures across the Niger Delta had grown NLNG cargoes from an average of 16 cargoes in 2023 to 21 cargoes in Q1 2024.
He also disclosed that Nigeria’s oil production had risen from 1.22mbpd in Q2 2023 to 1.6mbpd in Q1 2024.
Idris said post-oil subsidy removal economic relief interventions were designed to serve as palliatives in the short and medium-term, “while we wait to reap the long-term benefit of the reforms; provisional wage increment of N35,000 monthly for six months” – four months already paid.
Abdullahi Yusuf is a seasoned journalist, communicator and was previously the Deputy Editor-In-Chief and Zonal Manager, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Jos, where he retired on December 15, 2021
