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Daddy D.O🇳🇬
@DOlusegun
EXPLAINER: President Tinubu's Drive for Foreign Direct Investments
By Temitope Ajayi
In his independence anniversary broadcast on October 1st, President Bola Tinubu enumerated his administration's efforts to drive foreign direct investments into the country. He noted that within the first 16 months of his administration, the government had attracted over $30 billion in FDI.
A section of the social media and television punditry that delights in criticising any announcement from the government has gone into overdrive since the broadcast. Led by a desire to put a dagger at any positive news, they have been trying to outdo themselves, all to prove that the President made false claims. Fact-checkers are racing to determine who can fact-check the most. I told a few friends who have harangued me that there is nothing absolute about any fact-checking, especially if the fact-checkers themselves do not know better. It is all a matter of perspectives and what is being checked.
A distinction should be made between attracting and securing investments. Investments need to be attracted first. Many other processes are involved in the intervening period before they fully crystalise. Many critics are only focused on capital importation. That is a limited view of the investment process.
It is important to emphasise that attracting local or foreign investments does not mean immediate cash inflow into the economy. Investments could come from new foreign or local investors seeking to establish new ventures in the country or existing investors who want to expand their investments and footprints.
When President Tinubu attended the G20 Summit in India in August last year, he had the commitments of Indian businessmen who pledged to make a combined $14 billion additional investment in Nigeria. Some of the Indian businessmen have existing businesses in Nigeria. The chairmen of Indorama and Bharti Airtel were in the room with President Tinubu when these announcements were made. The President didn't impose these commitments on them. They saw the need themselves because of their confidence in the new economic direction being championed by the current administration.
At the meeting in New Delhi, Airtel Chairman Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal said his company planned a $800 million network expansion in Nigeria. In March this year, Airtel started construction of its $500m data centre at the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos.
President Tinubu was right in his broadcast speech when he said his administration had attracted more than $30 billion into the country to date. Some of these investments are in-country in the form of machinery and raw materials, some in cash, and some at various stages of final decisions.
A few days ago, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, hinted at new investments in the oil sector at a global forum in the USA. We already see statements from key Oil and Gas players to back her up.
ExxonMobil, during a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima in New York last week, revealed its plan to invest $10 billion in Nigeria's deep waters to increase the nation's crude oil output. Similarly, Total Energies announced a final decision on a $550 million investment in non-associated gas exploration and production. All these were based on President Tinubu's Executive Orders for the Oil and Gas Sector.
Based on pronouncements by various companies and investors since the Tinubu Administration took office, the following represents a summary of the new round of investments that are committed to Nigeria:
1.ExxonMobil - $10 billion: ExxonMobil commits to invest the announced sum in expanding Nigeria’s deepwater oil production.
2.India - $14 billion: During President Tinubu’s visit to India, a range of investments were announced, including:
•Indorama - $8 billion to expand its petrochemical and fertiliser plant in Nigeria.
•Bharti Airtel - $800 million for network expansion.
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