Frank Aigbogun, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of BusinessDay Media Limited, has urged the country to devote more energy to the effective and efficient use of its gas resources, insisting that the country’s future depends on their proper use.
Aigbogun gave this advice on Arise Television on Sunday during an exclusive interview to give his perspective on the economy, President Bola Tinubu’s policies, and what to expect from the much anticipated BusinessDay CEO Forum on Thursday.
“I and BusinessDay still believe that Nigeria’s future still depends on how we utilise our gas resources,” Aigbogun said. “We need revenue from gas to fund our fiscal requirements. We need FX from gas to supply our foreign exchange market.”
The economic expert insisted that the country has a large deposit of underutilised gas reserves that, if fully exploited, could help turn around the country’s economic fortunes.
He sighted Russia as a good example, which before the Russia-Ukraine war was responsible for nearly 55 percent of the entire gas supply to Europe, earning as much as a billion dollars daily from it.
Read also: Obaseki, Adesina, Mupita, others headline BusinessDay CEO Forum Thursday
Aigbogun was not pleased with the fact that Nigeria, the biggest economy in Africa with abundant gas and oil deposits, cannot harness its earning potential and generate as much revenue from it.
He said, “We have significant oil and gas resources. For example, the proven gas reserve of Nigeria is as much as 2/3 of that of Russia. Russia earns about a billion dollars selling gas to Europe every day; we should be doing 60 percent of that. 60 percent of that is $600 million a day. If we were selling $600 million a day in gas, Nigeria would not be where it is today. So there is a lot we want to know.”
Earlier, the publisher said that the upcoming BusinessDay CEO forum, expected to bring in policymakers, regulators, captains of industry, top politicians, and key government officials, will allow for the dissemination of ideas and solutions to many of the country’s economic problems.
Key discussants such as Governors Umar Namadi and Godwin Obaseki of Jigawa and Edo State, respectively, will share their experiences in their states and propose solutions to problems the country faces.
Other key discussants expected to share insights are Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Group, who will be talking on the topic, “The Day the Lion Roared: Making Nigeria a Global Industrial and Economic Gaint.” Ralph Mupita, who is the global president of MTN Group, will be speaking on navigating technological disruption.
Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, will provide a pathway on how best the country can make the most use of its gas and oil resources, especially as the world transitions away from fossil fuels.
