Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Minister Mohammed Idris said President Bola Tinubu’s proposed Oil and Gas policy reforms are anticipated to yield an extra one billion cubic feet of daily gas supply and facilitate the creation of 2.3 million employment opportunities. He made this revelation during a meeting with Kano’s business community on Friday.
Idris announced that the Federal Government has secured $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) for the country’s real sector.
The investments, according to the minister, spanning manufacturing, telecommunications, healthcare, and the oil and gas sectors, are in the process of being realized.
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Idris explained that Nigeria’s economy expanded by 3.46% in the fourth quarter of 2023, a marked improvement from 2.54% growth in the previous quarter, surpassing expectations. Additionally, the final quarter of 2023 saw a 66% increase in capital inflow into Nigeria compared to the third quarter, offsetting a 36% decline observed in the prior quarter.
He elaborated on President Bola Tinubu’s upcoming oil and gas policy reforms, which are poised to generate an additional one billion cubic feet of gas per day and create 2.3 million jobs. These reforms are expected to enhance the GDP by $17 billion and reduce the oil and gas contracting cycle in Nigeria from 38 months to just six.
Moreover, new tax incentives aimed at the oil and gas sector could attract an additional $10 billion in investments. These policies are also designed to lower operating costs in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, which currently exceed the global average.
Idris also mentioned that Nigeria’s oil production had increased from 1.22 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2023 to 1.6 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2024, following the removal of oil subsidies.
To mitigate the impact of these economic reforms, the Federal Government has initiated cash transfers of ₦25,000 to 15 million of the poorest and most vulnerable households for three months, with about 3,140,819 households having received their first payment. These efforts, he said, are aimed at bolstering the national economy.
The chairman of the Kano Business Community, Alhaji Sabiu Bako, shared the challenges faced by the local economy and urged the Federal Government to ensure that the business community is involved in these economic interventions. He called for prompt action to improve power supply, complete the AKK gas pipeline, and ensure agricultural support programs reach their intended recipients.
