It has been reported by the Federal Government that the Government of Saudi Arabia has promised to invest in building the country’s refineries so that they can begin operations, as well as restructuring the Central Bank of Nigeria. This was announced in a press release issued by Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, on Friday. Idris stated that Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, made the promises during his meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines of the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh.
According to the statement, the Crown Prince made a proposal that Saudi Aramco, which is owned by the Saudi government and operates as a state-owned oil company, will take the lead in directing the refinery investments in Nigeria. It is anticipated that the renovation will be finished within the span of two to three years. Additionally, the Crown Prince conveyed his gratitude to Nigeria for its ongoing support of OPEC as well as its active participation in the organisation.
Current reforms of Nigeria foreign exchange regime will be supported.
A sizeable deposit of foreign currency will be made available by the Saudi government in order to increase Nigeria’s forex liquidity. This move is being made in order to lend support to the current reforms of Nigerian foreign exchange regime being carried out by the Central Bank. He praised the economic reforms that are being carried out by President Tinubu and reaffirmed the Saudi government’s dedication to backing these reforms and helping Nigeria to enjoy the full benefits of them.
He added that Saudi Arabia is eager for President Bola Tinubu to see Nigeria succeed and become the centre of the economy of Africa. Meanwhile, Tinubu also expressed gratitude to the Saudi leader for the investment proposals and assured him that Nigeria would ensure careful management and oversight. He also mentioned that the two countries would collaborate over the next six months to create a detailed road map and blueprint to implement the agreed-upon investments and achieve the desired results.
Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and security challenges will be addressed.
Also, the statement added that President Tinubu and Crown Prince bin Salman discussed the necessity of strengthening security cooperation in order to combat terrorism, illegal migration, and various other crises, not just in Nigeria but throughout West Africa and the Sahel region. The two leaders continued their discussion of the current economic and socio-cultural collaboration between the two nations and reached an agreement to open new vistas in the countries’ bilateral relations.
In addition to these, Prince bin Salman identified Agriculture and Renewable Energy as potential areas of investment possibility for Saudi Arabia in Nigeria. The goal of these investments is to assist Nigeria in achieving food and energy security, respectively. Attendees at the bilateral meeting included Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation; Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Yahaya Lawal, as well as Ambassador Adekunle Adeleke, the state Chief of Protocol.
Operational modular refineries in Nigeria are functioning below capacity.
Lastly, a separate report by AskNigeria stated that despite the government’s efforts, the volume of crude oil needed to produce refined petroleum products by modular refineries is not being met, according to operators of crude oil refineries. All operational modular refineries in Nigeria are functioning below capacity and incurring daily losses. Deputy chairman of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria (CORAN), Dolapo Kotun, stressed that all modular refineries operate at or below capacity.
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