President Tinubu Accept ENI’s Proposed Investment In Nigeria

President Tinubu Accept ENI’s Proposed Investment In Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu has commended international energy company ENI for its proposed new investment in Nigeria. He reiterated his vision of making the nation more globally competitive and an attractive investment destination.

During a meeting with ENI’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, Tinubu emphasized that his administration’s reforms, driven by innovative thinking, strategic planning, new technology, and research into best practices, will reposition Nigeria’s economy.

Tinubu stated, “ENI, we welcome your team again. Claudio, it is an honour for me to welcome you back to your second home, Nigeria. Welcome back after many years. Nigeria has improved, and I am glad that you noted that we are making changes, not because of anything else but because of a very long-term vision on our investment strategy.

Gone are the days when we feel like the captain in several ships. We have seen conflicting strategies around the world, and we are determined to champion these changes or take ourselves ahead of those changes and make reforms a priority.

We cannot grow today’s seed with yesterday’s belief system. We have to continuously be intellectually inquisitive and reform ourselves and our way of doing things. We count on your efforts.

And we see the effect of your belief in our partnership, not for exploitation, but for investable development. Africa is not in a begging mode but in an accelerated mode to compete and take its place with the rest of the world.”

Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, issued a statement quoting Tinubu’s remarks.

Tinubu assured that the reforms would be sustained for the mutual benefit of investors and Nigerians, emphasizing the need for leadership in reform and creating opportunities to attract investments. “The basket is getting bigger, and the participants are getting larger and more resilient. The fossil fuel problem is there; science and technology is taking over.

We will still continue to assure you that we are going to be the global investment destination and I will encourage you, as one of the progressive leaders in the industry, on what our reforms have achieved.

Please, put a timeline on that investment strategy. It will be a stimulant for the rest of the world when you put a timeline on it.”

Tinubu also praised ENI’s long-standing confidence in Nigeria and its diversification into areas like agriculture. “We are open; we are ready. We are working hard on infrastructural development and to make arable land available for planting, and we are ready to partner you in every aspect of that and in innovative research,” he said.

Claudio Descalzi expressed ENI’s commitment to investing more in Nigeria, particularly in the agricultural sector. He thanked Tinubu for allowing him to return to Nigeria after nine years and for promoting a new era for the country. Descalzi said, “You want us to attract investment, and I think that you are following the right track with your leadership. We want to come back and demonstrate that what somebody in Europe says about Nigeria, that everybody is leaving, is not true. We want to be the champion of this new era.

We want to stay close to you; to learn and to help you in your endeavour and renew our efforts to create again a new Nigeria for everybody and I think that we trust you, and we want everybody in Europe and in different countries and everywhere to trust you and your leadership. You know that we work everywhere. And we can be a good ambassador of Nigeria, not just in Europe, but in other countries.”