Oil Gas Sector: High Interest Rate’ll Hinder Investment – Sambo

Vice President Namadi Sambo has said that the recent interest rate hike by banks will make it harder for investors to get affordable credit.

The Vice President said this Thursday at the state House, Abuja when he hosted a group of Russian investors led by one of the country’s leading industrialists, Avo Eze.

He welcomed foreign investment in the oil and gas as well as the power sector as it will help government to create employment for the nation’s teeming youth.

Vice President Sambo stated that government was determined to increase subsidy in the gas sector for both domestic and export purposes while it was looking for investors to build more refineries in the country to increase the availability of refined petroleum products.

Government he said, was in a hurry to open up investments in the power sector, especially in the relatively noble area of power generation through coal deposit in Enugu, Nassarawa, Gombe and Kogi states.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has debunked insinuations that a nationwide blackout was imminent due to shutdown of some gas plants in the country.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma and made available to The Tide.

Ajuonuma quoted Mr. Austen Oniwon, NNPC Group Managing Director, as saying that the corporation and its joint venture partners had taken remedial measures for the envisaged shutdown, adding that though there would be some shortfalls in gas supply, which in turn would affect the volume of power generation, “but it should not result in blackout”.

“The maintenance work at the gas plants is not only routine, but it is also scheduled with the intention of improving gas supply to the power plants.

We are positive that this cannot lead to nationwide blackout or total system collapse as being portrayed,” he explained.

Ajuonuma noted that supplementary gas and re-allocation to critical users was already being put in place in collaboration with all consumers, including PHCN, saying “the move was to ensure that Nigerians do not suffer undue hardship because of the planned maintenance work.”

He assured that the corporation, in alliance with its joint venture partners was doing everything possible to provide adequate gas for power, adding that there was no need to panic.

Shedie Okpara