Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (middle), flanked on his right by the Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman and on the left by Chairman of LADOL, Ladi Jadesimi during the visit to LADOL Base, Apapa, Lagos.

BY FRANCIS EZEM

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has said that the successful integration and handling of the Egina Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading FPSO would enhance Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan EGRP, and therefore further boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Plan GDP in the long run.

Recall that history was made in January this year when the Egina FPSO was officially received into the Lagos harbours at the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistic Base LADOL, which houses the Free Trade Zone after a 90-day long voyage from the Samsung Heavy Industries’ shipyard, South Korea.

The Vice-President, who is also acting for his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently on vacation in the United Kingdom, spoke during a visit to the LADOL Base located within the Lagos Ports Complex LPC. He said that the successful berthing of the FPSO was not only a testimony of the success of the government’s Ease of Doing Business policy in the port industry, a major boost to the local content initiative.

“Excellent work has been done here and this is in consonance with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan EGRP of the government and would in the long run also grow the nation’s GDP”, he said.

While congratulating the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board NCDMB, for its contribution towards bringing the project to fruition, he also enjoined stakeholders within the industry to promote fair competition, which he believes would enhance economic growth and development.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman, who spoke to stakeholders during the occasion, said that the successful berthing of Egina is as a result of operational efficiency and very robust synergy between the NPA, LADOL and other stakeholders. She reiterated that the project is a testimony of enhanced capacity of the NPA to handle greater responsibilities in the industry.

She encouraged other operators to emulate the investments made by Total, LADOL and Samsung, adding that government’s decision to always provide a level playing field through anti-monopoly policies have yielded great dividends afterall.

The MD said: “As a result of this huge success, we encourage prospective investors to explore this and other opportunities that the reform of our operations has engendered, as we assure of NPA’s willingness to facilitate these ventures. We must however advise business organisations to ensure strict compliance with the country’s statutory rules and regulations.

“The multiplier effects of local content policy are evidently visible in the transfer of technology, increase in revenue accruable to the nation, as well as in terms of job creation, reduction in capital flight, attainment of hub status for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, among several other cost saving benefits”.

She appreciated unflinching support received by the NPA management and LADOL from stakeholders in respect of the project, stressing that the Egina project was a step towards realisation of government’s desire to achieve a hub status, which would also boost industrialisation.

Also present at the event were Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar; Chairman LADOL, Mr. Ladi Jadesimi; Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater Total, Engr. Ahmadu-Kida Musa who represented the Managing Director Total Upstream, Mr. Nicholas Terraz as well as top management staff of NPA.