Commissioning Of Floating Production Storage Vessel, Built By Ladol Oil Servicing Company

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BUHARI ADMINISTRATION HAS HELPED REMOVE BUSINESS MONOPOLY TO OPEN UP MORE SPACE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH – OSINBAJO

*Commends LADOL for using largely Nigerian talents in building vessels

*Says sourcing local talents is beneficial for the growth of economy

*Adds that FG’s policy of creating enabling business environment key to economic growth

*“We are able to invest more on infrastructure with less revenue because we have been able to stop grand corruption”

 “This is why for us it is not just about creating an enabling business environment but also about creating the right attitudes especially with the regulators, persons who are in the public service. There is talent, look around you, there is everything that we need to make this country work; everything is here. But if people look at their personal interest, especially their personal financial interest over what will benefit the nation and the future, we are never going to make much progress.” – Acting President

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, ACTING PRESIDENT, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE COMMISSIONING OF A FLOATING PRODUCTION STORAGE AND OFFLOADING (FPSO) VESSEL, BUILT BY LADOL OIL SERVICING COMPANY, IN LAGOS STATE, ON FRIDAY, 10^TH AUGUST, 2018

PROTOCOLS

We had a short tour of the facility and, of course, we heard from their partners, Snepco, and Total. l think for us, what is most important are the principles, the philosophical foundation of our own economy and the way that we want to see the Nigerian economy grow.

I think that the first is that we very strongly believe that the Nigerian economy must be private sector led, and it is very obvious why that is so; this budget is just an example, it’s the $16 billion project; in naira terms, that’s about N5 trillion.

The entire Nigerian budget is N9 trillion, and spending on infrastructure budget alone, which is highest in the history of Nigeria, was N1.5 trillion. So it tells you that one single project is budgeted for is several times more than the entire federal infrastructural fund. We are not talking about state but we are just talking about the federal level and so it just tells you a story; this is a story of developed economies all over the world, they are private sector driven.

There is a way government revenues can possibly satisfy the push for economic growth. For us it is not just rhetoric, but fundamental that the private sector must lead. This is why that in terms of philosophical direction, it takes up from there.

The second, of course, is about monopoly, which in another point has been made and everyone wants a monopoly, l mean every good businessman wants a monopoly. So really it is always a struggle between the regulator, government and the monopolist. And every possible agreement is made about why this particular monopoly should be protected.

I think that it is wise, and this is really why the federal government policy has been one of trying to ensure that they do not permit monopolies, and we open up the space so that there would be competition.

I think it’s very obvious now. And in fact, from just what the MD of SEPCO said a few minutes ago, ensuring that the monopoly plays an important part of encouraging investment and of course, making the environment much more lucrative for those who are doing business, and just looking at the figures that the MD mentioned a few minutes ago, is obvious that it is the right thing to do.

I think also that would not strive to create a monopoly, but I’m sure that given the right environment, there would be competition.

The fact is, with respect to the Nigerian content, and this is again another of the very key areas where these particular facility and this project has excel very clearly, you proved the point we make all along.

The President has signed so far two executive orders on the issue of local content, aside from the great work of the local content board itself, which is what this particular  facility feature. Aside from that, the President has also signed two other executive orders 3&5 on local content emphasizing the need to have, and emphasizing requirement that where ever local content is available, we will use local content, especially  with respect to  local skills and capacity, that is executive order five, very detailed and l think that these facilities must have shown that this is really the way to go and there is no question at all about the great talents that are available in Nigeria. There is no question at all about that. l think all of you here are evidence of that great talent.

The fourth point, which I think is with our enabling business environment, ensuring that the business environment is such that it makes sense for people to invest here.

One of the critical issues is with two investment approvals, everything that goes with investment, especially getting licences, getting contract signed etc.

It’s really over times and I’m sure those of us who have had to deal with regulators, we tend to find that it can’t be quite a difficult enterprise; getting approvals and even just getting the contracts; contracts that will benefit the nation, approvals that will benefit the nation. This is why for us it is not just about creating an enabling business environment but also about creating the right attitudes, especially with the regulators, persons who are in the public service.

Part of it is corruption, part of it is just a graft that attempts all of these kinds of activities when a person has a lot of discretion about, even where you can give approvals that will mean a lot of money or approvals that will mean significant investments.

I was saying just about a week ago, that the fight against corruption  in Nigeria  will so far, what to do is to check grand corruption meanly just going to the treasury and taking some money out of the treasury.

I’m sure we have been able to stop them. We have been able to put a stop to that. So it is no longer possible. We will not find the President signing from the Central Bank asking the Central Bank to move out some amount of money. Every Nigerian knows that President Muhammadu Buhari will not do that and because we have been able to stop grand corruption, we are investing despite earning 60 per cent less revenue than the previous government. We are investing almost five times more than the previous government in infrastructure. We are able to do more with less just by stopping one type of corruption.

We haven’t even got to the point where we are looking at public service, people doing all sorts of things. That’s the next phase and that phase is important, this country can only work if we are able to deal with corruption.  There is talent, look around you, there is everything that we need to make this country work; everything is here. But if people look at their personal interest, especially their personal financial interest over what will benefit the nation and the future, we are never going to make much progress. So you find that even a project like this is going to be held on for years just somebody says I’m not going to grant you an approval. The result for the project of this size and several others are awaiting to be done. What we need is to create the right environment and the right attitude.

We have been taking our regulators around, MSME Clinic we are doing across the country and we have taken all our regulators all over the country. We have been about in 17 states now just going with the regulators so that they can meet with the MSME themselves, hear their concerns, in some cases go into human protests and all of that and be able to understand what it is that people were trying to set up a small business. And l think it had a tremendous effect on attitude of the regulators.

Let’s continue to  do this and l think it’s very  important that our private sector partners continue to emphasise what advantages they have derived from some of these government  policies. Listening to the Shell, Snepco MD today, In fact l was saying to Hadiza just a few minutes ago; who would have known how much has been saved by one company just by a decision not to allow a monopoly? But these things have to be said. If nobody says them, we are never able to justify why it is that you do certain things. And l think that this is ample justification for the steps that has been taken.

Let me just congratulate you very much, especially LADOL, Total and Snepco. l think this rivalry is a very good one and l hope that you are able to make good this best very quickly and  that LADOL would grow from strength to strength, and that we will see several others that will do the kind of excellent  work  that has been done here.

Let me congratulate the general staff for the great work you are doing.

Thank you.