United States Ambassador to Nigeria Stuart Symington and his UK
counterpart Ambassador Paul Arkwright have paid separate visits to the
Chairman of Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola, during which the parties held
discussions on the Nigerian economy and the role of businesses in the
country in exploring partnerships with international businesses to create
more job opportunities for Nigerian youths.
At the breakfast meeting with Otedola at his Ikoyi, Lagos residence, the
U.S. ambassador commended the Nigerian energy magnate for his continuing
investments in the country and for being a role model for other indigenous
entrepreneurs.
The American envoy drew Otedolas attention to Nigerias growing
population, noting that the private sector has a critical role to play in
creating opportunities for youths to be gainfully employed and in nation
building.
This, Symington added, would help to address poverty in the country and
rising insecurity due to the high rate of unemployment.
He encouraged Otedola to explore partnerships with U.S. companies
interested in investing in solar power projects and exports.
Responding, Otedola, who in addition to being the majority shareholder in
Forte Oil, is also an investor in the Geregu power plant in Ajaokuta, Kogi
State and is expanding into solar power, thanked the U.S. ambassador for
the visit and expressed his commitment to working with international
businesses to expand his footprint in the country.
Nigerians are very entrepreneurial and would latch on to any opportunity
to start and grow a business. The problem, however, has been access to
cheap and long-term capital which remains an impediment.
That is where we would like the U.S. to come in by encouraging private
equity firms, venture capitalists and using U.S. export guarantees, among
others, to support Nigerian businesses to become competitive and make good
returns on their investments, he said.
He reminded Symington that despite the political and economic risks in the
country, Nigeria remains one of the few countries in the world where the
returns on investment are still high due to the infrastructure and
technological gaps, making foreign investment a worthwhile venture.
Also, Otedola hosted the British ambassador Arkwright to dinner at his
residence recently, where talks centred on improving business ties between
local businesses and British firms.
Like his U.S. counterpart, Arkwright congratulated Otedola for his
investment drive in the country, saying businesses such as Forte Oil had
become beacons for others to follow.
He assured Otedola that given the strong historic ties between Britain and
Nigeria, the country remained an investment magnet for UK companies
seeking to do business on the African continent.
He charged Otedola to collaborate with other Nigerian entrepreneurs and
businesses to encourage the federal government on creating a conducive
environment for foreign and local businesses to thrive.
Otedola, in his response, assured the British envoy that the Nigeria
government has a policy in place and a council co-led by the private
sector on the ease of doing business.
As you know, Nigeria recently improved its ranking on the World Banks
ease of doing business index by moving up 24 places. But the federal
government is not resting on its oars because it wants to improve on the
current ranking.
We in the private sector continue to meet with government ministries and
agencies and collaborate with them in areas where more improvement is
needed so that we can attract more foreign direct investment into the
country.
And I am sure that with the support of the UK government and businesses
in some of these areas, we will continue to see improvements in all
sectors of the economy, Otedola said.
He thanked Arkwright for the visit and expressed his commitment to working
with British businesses on exploring new ventures in Nigeria.
-ThisDay