BY Bunmi Aduloju
Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says the recent incentives in the oil and gas sector have attracted $3 billion in investments.
Edun spoke during the Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) in Abuja on Tuesday.
“The oil and gas sector has been revamped, with incentives yielding about $3 billion in investments. ExxonMobil has pledged $10 billion, and local players are following suit,” Edun said.
“ExxonMobil announced $10 billion and there are Nigerians coming behind. That is also a driver of the economy. The first place to look for foreign exchange (FX) and oil revenue is the oil sector.
“We are being promised by operators in the oil sector 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and, of course, the Dangote refinery.”
On October 2, the government introduced concessions aimed at revitalising the oil and gas industry to ensure a boost in Nigeria’s upstream and downstream sectors.
The fiscal incentives include value-added tax (VAT) modification order 2024 and notice of tax incentives for deep offshore oil and gas production.
Speaking further, Edun said companies in the manufacturing sector are willing to make similar investments in the economy.
According to the minister, this readiness is driven by the government’s initiatives to promote growth and development, like tax exemptions and tax reforms.
He said a significant manufacturer just declared a $2 billion investment in the industry.
“The other areas are manufacturing. Just last Saturday, I was with a major manufacturer. Of course, we have reeled out a whole range of incentives, tax reforms and exemptions and so forth for the manufacturing sector to help them with their cost,” he said.
“And the manufacturer said, having noted and followed the reforms over the years, they are now at the stage where the environment is now conducive for them to bring in $1.2 billion worth of investment across different areas of the economy. Of course, these are the specific incentives that have been unveiled, including cheaper funding.”
Also, Edun said revenue generated by the federal government will be used to fund social intervention programmes that will benefit 20 million Nigerians.
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