President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday lamented Nigeria’s inability to sustain its gas production plans laid out in the early 70s, saying that the country would have been earning more from gas than petroleum by now.
The President disclosed this on Tuesday, when he hosted Special Envoy of President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, at State House, Abuja.
“ If Nigeria had followed her own programme for exploiting its gas reserves, the country would have been earning more money from the product than from petroleum now.
President Buhari declared: “We share a lot of things in common with Equatorial Guinea. These include geographical neighbourliness and neighbourliness in terms of resources.
According to the President, “Nigeria is more of a gas producing, rather than oil producing country.
“That fact had long been established. If we had followed our own plans, laid out in the 1970s, for the gas sector, we should have had 12 trains by early 1980s, instead of being on just six trains now.”
The Special Envoy and Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, had brought a message from his President on the forthcoming meeting of Heads of State of gas exporting nations, which Equatorial Guinea would be hosting.
The Special Envoy thanked Nigeria for the support she gave Equatorial Guinea to host the first summit of gas exporting countries in the world, taking place on African soil.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
