OVER breakfast, United States Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Stuart Symington has urged Chairman of Forte Oil Plc, Mr. Femi Otedola to partner international business to create more jobs for youths. At Otedola’s Ikoyi, Lagos home, the U.S. ambassador praised the energy magnate for his investments and for being a role model for other indigenous entrepreneurs.
The American envoy drew Otedola’s attention to Nigeria’s growing population, noting that the private sector has a critical role to play in creating opportunities for youths to be gainfully employed. This, Symington added, would help to address poverty and insecurity. He encouraged Otedola to explore partnerships with U.S. companies interested in investing in solar power projects and exports. Otedola, the majority shareholder in Forte Oil, is also an investor in the Geregu power plant in Ajaokuta, Kogi State. He thanked the U.S. ambassador for the visit and expressed his commitment to working with international businesses. “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 longterm 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 remained one of the few countries where returns on investment are still high due to the infrastructure and technological gaps. Otedola hosted also British Ambassador Paul Arkwright to dinner at his residence.
The economy, again, was the issue. 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 in Africa.
He advised 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, replying, assured the British envoy that the Federal Government had a policy 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 Bank’s 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 investments 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.
