Nigeria Now Exciting Place to Invest – Bayo Ogunlesi
Bayo Ogunlesi, the chairman of Global Infrastructure Partners, says his company plans to invest in Nigeria, describing the country as an “exciting place to invest in”.
Ogunlesi spoke to state house journalists after a recent closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
“We’re making investments in Nigeria. We explored additional opportunities. I’m not going to tell you what they are. Just wait, watch this space, you will see them,” he said.
“But look, Nigeria is now a place that is exciting to invest in, and that’s what we talked to Mr. President about. And of course, as you would expect, he was very encouraging of international investments in Nigeria.”
Ogunlesi said his discussions with the president centered on the significant transformation that has taken place in Nigeria over the past two years.
“Think about it. Removal of subsidy, tax reform, we have a refinery that’s operating and exporting aviation fuel, unification of the road ownership system, and so the next step is how do we encourage international investment in Nigeria to drive economic growth,” he said.
“And I had a wonderful meeting with Mr. President, exchanging ideas about how we can do that, how we can put Nigeria — front and centre — on the map for international investments. And we had some very good suggestions and discussions about that.”
Ogunlesi disclosed that his organisation plans to expand its investments across sectors where it already has a presence.
“So we invest in energy, we’re building LNG plants in Texas, we’re building LNG plants in Australia. There’s gas in Nigeria,” he said.
“Nigeria is a huge gas province. People describe me as a guy who bought Gatwick Airport. I didn’t personally buy Gatwick Airport.’
Ogunlesi said the aviation sector is also “an area of interest [for] his company”.
“I confessed to Mr. President that one of our companies has ports in Coutonu, and it has a port in Lome, none in Nigeria,” he said.
“So I asked for his forgiveness and understanding, and being the gentleman that he was, he forgave me, but said, you have to bring port investment to Nigeria”.
The billionaire said his company also plans to invest in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector.
“So lots of investment opportunities in Nigeria. You just have to be serious about making the right moves,” he said.
Also speaking, Hakeem Belo-Osagie chairman of Metis Capital, said when Nigerians at home and in the diaspora invest in the country, it sends a strong signal to the international community to follow suit and contribute to Nigeria’s growth.
“We thank President Tinubu for his policies. They have made Nigeria investable,” he said.
He assured the president and Nigerians that “we will do our very best, and it will create a fast-growing Nigeria which will achieve its objectives”.