•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
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has called for the development of more local institutions in Nigeria and Africa to finance energy projects, aiming to address energy poverty.
Speaking at the 23rd Nigeria Oil Gas Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, NNPC Ltd’s Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, reiterated the need for institutions like Afreximbank and the proposed Africa Energy Bank to step in as global financial bodies pull back due to environmental concerns.
He 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.
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, FirstBank, 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.