President Bola Tinubu has assured the German Government and businessmen of Nigeria’s preparedness to expand frontiers for investors by removing administrative bottlenecks in the energy and solid minerals sectors.
He gave the assurance in Abuja while welcoming the German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is on a state visit to Nigeria.
While Nigeria boasts
of rich potential in raw materials, Germany also has the machinery and the expertise to harness the potential of Nigeria’s raw materials.
Therefore, both countries will need to work together to derive the benefits of their richness.
There are already bilateral agreements between Nigeria and Germany in some critical sectors, but Steinmeier’s visit has expanded their discussions to the energy and solid mineral sectors.
Welcoming the German President to Abuja, President Tinubu told him that activation of the latent potentials in the energy sector remained central to Nigeria’s development.
“We need each other, and you emphasized this in our private discussion. Nigeria is going through a transformative period and trying to align with the best strategy and practices on good governance globally.
“We like our relationship with you as friends and partners. Germany is well-industrialized and renowned for its sustainable infrastructure.
“I am saying again that Nigeria is ready and open for business. As you mentioned, you are ready to support Nigeria in the energy sector, which you have long been doing. Also, in alternative energy, we have the sun, and you have the technology. We should continue our partnership in every way that we can”, the President added.
President Tinubu said he had directed relevant Ministries to work closely with investors to develop the energy sector.
“I will re-emphasise again and again we must enhance the possibility of becoming highly industrialised by exploring opportunities in our natural resources”, he said.
He said Nigeria was synchronising to ensure a grounded and flourishing partnership that would bring prosperity to the people, expressing delight that Nigeria-German trade is in euro.
Nigeria, according to the President, is projecting investment in gas and alternative energy, as well as leveraging solid minerals, particularly lithium.
He said Small and Medium Enterprises were also being repositioned to play a more central role in development, assuring that bottlenecks to investments have been removed.
The German President assured President Tinubu that there were more specialised companies in Germany that would be encouraged to look towards Nigeria for expansion opportunities beyond the big brands in the energy sector.
“There is a growing interest in Nigeria on the German side beyond those who are already here, like Siemens. Other companies are looking for investment opportunities, especially in renewable energy’, he stated.
In his presentation, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr. Dele Alake, noted that Germany had a dedicated one billion Euro fund for diversifying the supply chain in renewable energy, and said modifying the conditions could easily accommodate the opportunities in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
