… As FCTA partners with Arabian Gulf Chamber on investment opportunities***
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has congratulated Prof. Chukwuma Soludo on his inauguration as Governor of Anambra.
Mr Chinedu Anyaso, Chairman of IPMAN, Enugu Depot Community in charge of Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States gave the congratulatory message in an interview with the newsmen in Awka on Friday.
Also read: IPMAN urges FG to focus on increasing domestic refining
Anyaso lauded Soludo for proposing to work on the Anambra economy that would be independent of oil by activating its internally generated revenue base and strengthening its fiscal regime.
He said the exploration of oil in commercial quantities and recognition of Anambra as an oil-producing state provided an opportunity for Soludo to grow the state’s oil sector.
The IPMAN chairman, however, said that the absence of a functional petroleum depot in the zone was posing a serious challenge to marketers in the area.
Anyaso said marketers in the zone relied on Calabar, Warri and Lagos for products with attendant risk and additional cost.
He urged the governor to help address the challenges by using his position to influence the establishment of a tank farm or modular refinery to serve the area.
“We are happy that Gov. Soludo in his inaugural address showed leadership, with his experience and reach, he has the capacity to help build the southeast economy.
“IPMAN believes that it is an opportunity to develop the oil and gas sector of Anambra and the entire southeast.
“Right now, we don’t have a functional NNPC depot, tank farm, or refinery in the zone and all these are affecting our operation of sourcing materials.
“So we are hoping that with the oil exploration activities, Prof. Soludo in collaboration with his colleagues in the area will look in the direction of citing a tank farm or refinery in the state, this will not only ease our business but boost the economy,” he said.
Anyaso, therefore, said the leadership of IPMAN was ready to have a conversation with the governor on how to optimise opportunities in the sector.
In the meantime, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, says the FCT Administration will partner with the Nigerian-Arabian Gulf Chamber of Commerce on investment opportunities in the Territory.
Bello said this in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Anthony Ogunleye on Friday.
The minister gave the assurance when the President of the chamber, Mr Mahmoud Ahmadu, led a delegation on a visit to him.
The newsmen report that Ahmadu’s visit was a follow-up to the minister’s presentation on investment opportunities in the FCT when he visited Dubai.
Newsmen also report that Bello had made the presentation during the Nigerian Investment Forum at the Dubai Expo 2020 held on March 5, 2022.
The minister said the newly created Economic Planning, Revenue Generation and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Secretariat of the FCT would be at the forefront of investment programmes and projects.
He said the FCT would welcome foreign investors in waste management, light rail and tourism sectors as the government alone could not optimally fund the development of these sectors.
Earlier, Ahmadu said the efforts by the FCT administration to woo Direct Foreign Investment (FDIs) into the FCT were yielding results.
Ahmadu said that potential investors were showing interest in business opportunities in the territory.
“After the minister’s presentation in Dubai which focused largely on business opportunities in transportation, tourism, waste management, and construction, potential investors at the forum showed great interest in the business opportunities in the FCT.
“The minister was able to give us a very brilliant presentation, so much so that after he left, we got a lot of interest.
“Prior to his presentation, we had few people that were interested in investing in Nigeria, but this changed after the presentation,’’ Ahmadu said.
He said many investors, who were eager to come to Nigeria were particularly interested in the FCT light rail project, cultural centre and waste management sectors.
The president said that the chamber was ready to facilitate such investment visits to the FCT
