President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed a new set of executive orders aimed at improving the investment climate.
He said the move on Wednesday was also to position Nigeria as the preferred investment destination for the oil and gas sector in Africa.
According to a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the president on Media, Tinubu signed the orders in line with his commitment to eliminating obstacles to investments in Nigeria.
He said the policy would also help to harness the nation’s resources and diversify the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.
Ngelale’s statement said: “Following extensive engagements, analyses, and benchmarking with other jurisdictions, the President has initiated the amendment of primary legislation to introduce fiscal incentives for oil and gas projects, reduce contracting costs and timelines, and promote cost efficiency in local content requirements.
“Recognizing the urgency to accelerate investments, the President has directed as follows:
(1) Introduction of fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, midstream and deepwater developments.
(2) Streamlining of contracting process to compress the contracting cycle to six months.
(3) The application of the local content requirements without hindering investments or the cost competitiveness.”
It said that details of the Policy Directives would be gazetted.
The statement added: “These incentives were developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Petroleum, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
“The Special Adviser to the President on Energy has been directed to continue coordinating the aforementioned stakeholders to ensure the implementation of these directives within a stipulated timeframe.”
