Thursday, December 12, 2024 -President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday assured German businesses of Nigeria’s readiness to fully implement existing pacts to ease investment in renewable energy, youth skill development and industrial growth.
Speaking during the visit of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier,
Tinubu highlighted ongoing reforms aimed at fostering a business-friendly
environment and attracting foreign investment.
These include import duty waivers for machinery, decentralisation of
power generation and active foreign exchange reforms.
“We have an open-door policy; ease of entry, ease of exit,” Tinubu said
during the press conference that followed closed-door talks, emphasising the
removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks in establishing businesses.
He explained: “We have an open-door policy. What do I mean by that?
There is no longer bureaucracy in establishing your business. We have tax
reforms that are private-sector friendly.
“We have import duty waivers for machinery. We have so many other
incentives that we will help establish private businesses. That I can assure
you. We are removing the bureaucracy.
“We have a reform in the foreign exchange market, and it’s very active.
We’ve aligned our petroleum industry with the world standard practice of
production and consumption.”
Both presidents also discussed ways to improve the people-to-people
relationships between both countries.
Tinubu revealed: “It was a very good bilateral discussion. I could see
from the previous meeting earlier today that our businessmen and policymakers
are very anxious to do business with Germany.
“Mine is to continue to assure you that our business doors are open and
reforms are working very well. We plan to strengthen the relationship and build
a fulfilling and rewarding partnership between the two countries,
people-to-people relationships, and government-to-government facilitation of
opportunities and prosperity.”
He noted Nigeria’s potential as a major gas producer and its abundant
renewable energy resources, such as solar power, which can be harnessed through
German technology for rural electrification.
“While we are equally promoting the possibility of alternative energy
sources, we pride ourselves on being one of the largest gas producers.
“What we need to do has been discussed, and we need to strengthen the
partnership for the utilisation of energy as a source of supply and promotion
of additional incremental value in business opportunities for Nigeria and
Germany. We’ve discussed that,” said Tinubu.
In electricity, the Nigerian leader warned that though Siemens Energy is
“working very hard” to fulfil its part of the partnership, Nigerians should not
expect a “magical response” as the existing power infrastructure is decades
old.
“Nigeria, being a nation in a hurry, wants a magical response. But don’t
forget, those transmission lines are about 50 to 60 years old.
“The snags are what we are trying to improve and reduce the possibility
of problems. We are doing that. I’ve signed a reform that decentralised the
power distribution and generation in the country. The states and various
subsectors and subnationals can generate their power and distribute it; they
are working on it all.
“We have German businesses who are promoting alternative sources of
energy, and they are here. We have the sun; they have the technology. I think
we can utilise that for rural electrification; as mentioned earlier on, we can
use the various dams that are not effective. We assure you that we will put
these dams to use for the benefit of our people,” Tinubu said.
His comment comes just as the national grid collapsed on Wednesday, the
12th time in 2024.
The President also underscored the importance of youth training, solid
minerals, and industrial partnerships in advancing Nigeria’s development
agenda.
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