$600m investment: FG, Maersk didn’t seal any deal, says Onanuga

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says no agreement or deal was signed between the Nigerian government and the shipping giant, Maersk.

Speaking with TheCable on Tuesday, Onanuga said there was only talk “of possible investment in Nigeria” by Maersk.

After President Tinubu’s discussion with Robert Maersk Uggla on April 28, the presidency released a statement announcing that the shipping company had pledged to inject $600 million into the Nigerian seaport industry.

“Danish shipping company, A.P Moller-Maersk plans $600m investment in Nigeria. Danish shipping and logistics company A.P Moller-Maersk has disclosed a planned investment of $600 million in Nigeria to accommodate more container shipping services in Nigerian ports,” Onanuga wrote on X.

Although TheCable observed that the presidential aide’s social media post has been deleted, Maersk officials have confirmed that no such agreement is in place and no deals have been signed.

When contacted, Onanuga confirmed that no agreement on investment had been reached by the two parties.

“I think the statement issued by Maersk did not talk about a deal. There was no deal according to that statement that I read. However, there was talk of investment,” the special adviser said.

“No document or agreement was signed, so there was no deal. But there was talk of a possible investment in the country.

“So, go and read the statement again. They never said any deal was signed between the Nigerian government and the Dutch company. There was nothing like that.”

Citing Maersk’s statement, Onanuga said the company was unable to comment on investment talks, stressing that it did not expressly deny that there was an investment talk.

He said people are “unnecessarily giddy over nothing”.