In line with the renewed hope agenda, the Bola Tinubu government will keep looking for methods to enhance the nation’s economic environment and draw more capital into the gas and energy industries, according to Special Advisor to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen.

While at the ongoing Nigeria International Energy Summit NIES 2024, Verheijen delivered a speech in Abuja at the second plenary session.

Included in the high-level panel was the Special Adviser, Ambassador of Germany to Nigeria, Mr. Olalekan Akinyanmi, CEO of Lekoil Ltd., CEO of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Chairman of OPTS, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, Secretary General of APPO, Mr. Joseph McMonigle, Secretary General of the International Energy Forum (IEF), and Haitham al-Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC.

Verheijen commented on Nigeria’s strategy for striking a balance between its energy needs and the demands of the global energy transition saying “Nigeria has a significant role to play in the global energy markets, in not only meeting energy security to address energy security at home, as well as on the continent, and to make sure we’re doing so sustainably and that this is affordable. 

“This includes the use of energy in meeting various end uses to power our industrialization, to literally gas to power value chain, or even in domestic uses.

“One of the focus areas for this administration is to ensure that the government doesn’t stay in the business of investing capital in a sector that can easily attract private sector capital. We have to ensure that the opportunity sets are just as attractive and rank high in the global portfolios of investors.

“If we’re not in a competitive environment and we’re not making sure that our opportunities are attractive, then we will not be able to attract that capital.”