President Umaru Musa Yar�Adua yesterday in Germany said one of the major objectives of the oil sector reforms being undertaken by his administration is to re-direct the huge resources currently committed to settling cash call obligations to the major oil companies to other critical areas of national need such as for the rehabilitation of the power, education and health sectors.
The President who stated this during talks with President Horst Kohler of Germany, said his administration wanted oil companies in the country to now fund joint venture projects with funds raised from the international financial markets instead of relying in great part on contributions from the Federal Government.
�Part of the reasons why we are restructuring our oil sector is to free the resources that we pay the oil companies under the joint venture programme for critical areas like power, education and health.
�We want the oil companies to go to the markets to source for funds. We are also adopting the same approach for other areas that can attract investments so that we can channel the resources that will become available to areas requiring urgent attention,� Yar�Adua told the German leader.
Yar�Adua Informed Kohler that a high-level team of Nigerian energy experts will visit Germany very soon to follow up on his talks with their German counterparts and investors on the establishment of a partnership for the development of Nigeria�s power sector.
�There are two major challenges for the world today. The first is security and the second is power and energy. The second concerns us more in Africa because we need massive investments in power supply to achieve any meaningful development.
“Our partnership with Germany, which will be mutually-beneficial, has the potential to help us meet this challenge,� he said.
Yar�Adua told Kohler and other German government officials at the meeting that his administration was in the process of reviewing all existing regulations that hinder investments in Nigeria, saying that his government was determined to create conditions that will boost the confidence of local and foreign investors in the Nigerian economy.
On the Niger-Delta, President Yar�Adua said his government hoped to conclude ongoing consultations with stakeholders in the region very soon and host a summit of Niger Delta Stakeholders in December as a prelude to the take-off of the implementation of the 15-year strategic master-plan for the region under the 2008 national budget.
In his remark, Kohler commended Yar�Adua�s initiatives for the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis and pledged his government�s support for efforts by the Yar�Adua administration to address Nigeria�s power supply problems.
Both leaders looked forward to fruitful deliberations at the Partnership with Africa Forum which opens at Eltville, Germany today with other African leaders in attendance.
Nov32007