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Come, business is good in Nigeria, Tinubu tells global investors
President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, made another pitch to the global investors to make Nigeria their preferable destination, citing the great potentials of Nigeria as a viable entity with great potentials but the various measures his government has put in place towards removing the stumbling blocks, hitherto hampering the operations of foreign investors.
Tinubu, who particularly cited the cleaning up of the foreign exchange market to enhance the ease of doing business, also highlighted the determination of the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that such investors were able to repatriate their profits back to their countries.
The President, who currently on official visit, told his audience at the Nigeria-Netherlands Business and Investment Forum in The Hague, that bilateral partnerships must be mutually beneficial, transformative, and translate into real gains for ordinary citizens.
Emphasising the pivotality of stronger ties between Nigeria and the Netherlands, he said both countries must explore more creative channels of collaboration, whether it is through partnerships, joint ventures, or strategic alliances in order to build bridges that connect markets and facilitate the flow of goods, services, ideas and peoples.
Dwelling on the reforms of his government, regarding Foreign Direct Investment, (FDI), he listed: “The cleaning up of our foreign exchange market to make it more transparent for seamless business transactions, removal of the fuel subsidy, and the readiness of the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide the necessary window to allow foreign companies repatriate their profits, among others.”
Stressing that the improved business milieu in Nigeria was making the country an investor’s paradise, he urged businessmen and women to take advantage of these opportunities for mutually rewarding economic partnerships between Nigeria and the Netherlands.
His words: “I am delighted and honoured to be at this occasion of the Nigeria-Netherlands Business Forum. This is a platform that symbolizes the potential for collaboration and partnership between our two nations. It is worthy to note that while this forum seeks to highlight and advance the potential of mutually beneficial partnerships, I wish to state here that we must also ensure that the partnerships are creative and transformative in such a manner that the ordinary citizens of our countries can reap verifiable gains.
“It is on record that Nigeria and the Netherlands have established business ties for decades. There is every need to re-invigorate this relationship. This is a call for creativity on the part of all of us. Our countries possess unique strengths and resources. It is through collaboration that we can harness these strengths, unlock new opportunities, and drive economic development.
“Together, we have the potential to create synergies that will benefit our present and future generations. We must endeavour to replicate the success stories of various Dutch companies and enterprises by learning and sharing their experiences and approaches for the benefit of all.
“As the world braces up for today’s economic challenges, which in many ways affect our two countries, a creative approach to the search for investment-minded solutions will prove to be the most viable path to the level of sustainable development that we all desire.
“In line with the above vision, I believe that we must endeavour to push this narrative into our daily business activities and to move toward industrial value addition, agribusiness, innovative technology, green energy, marine economic expansion, as well as solid mineral exploitation and processing.”
Emphasising that relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands will henceforth set a new tone and foundation for stronger economic ties between both countries, he added: As we engage in discussions and negotiations today, let us do so with a spirit of openness, trust, and mutual respect. Let us listen to one another, learn from each other, and find common ground that will allow us to move forward together in pursuit of our shared prosperity.”
For the first time in six years, Nigeria has recorded a crude oil and condensate production increase of an average of 1,735,398 barrels per day in June 2026, after posting consecutive four-month growth.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which made the announcement on Sunday, also indicated that the also met its production quota set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Against the backdrop of scenarios, where oil theft and other shortcomings in the industry, which seemed peculiar had previously hampered crude production, which at a point dipped to as low as 700,000bpd, the agency through Eniola Akinkuotu, its spokesman, stated that in June, crude oil production hit 1.56mbpd while 0.18mbpd of condensates was produced, meaning the figure exceeded the OPEC quota of 1.5 mbpd by four per cent.
In strict crude oil terms (excluding condensates), the 1.56 million daily average production Nigeria witnessed in June is the highest that Africa’s biggest oil producer has recorded since April 2020, thus representing a 74-month high, the statement added.
Stressing the feat, the agency said in June, the peak combined crude oil and condensate production was 1.89mbpd, reflecting Nigeria’s potential to reach two million barrels per day in the near term, but however, the lowest production was 1.57mbpd for the period in review.
The NUPRC, while also stating that the improved performance was primarily driven by stable production operations across most producing assets, said the absence of any major pipeline outages during the period under review, resulting in enhanced operational stability supported improved production uptime and crude evacuation efficiency.
If a marching order by President Bola Tinubu, is achieved, every Nigerian would be captured in in the national identity database before the end of 2026, going by the signals coming from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, who gave the out the information, said the President, the directive formed part of the Federal Government’s efforts to establish a comprehensive national identity system capable of supporting effective governance, planning, and service delivery.
A guest on Sunday Politics, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the NIMC boss, told her host: “The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian.
“What we have done is we have partnered through the World Bank ID4D project with front-end partners. They are part of the digital identity ecosystem. These are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf.”
Stressing that the mandate of the agency, she explained that the National Identification Number (NIN) remained a unique identifier, ensuring that every individual is registered only once, stating that presently, Nigeria’s actual population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a comprehensive identity database essential for national planning.
She said: “That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once. It is estimated that we’re 200 million. When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have. Some estimates say 230 million, while a few people say 250 million.
“Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian.”
Dismissing the possibility of double registration under different guises, she said the NIMC boss said the commission’s biometric verification system prevents such occurrences, adding that while the previous system could accept duplicate enrolments before detecting them later, the current process automatically identified and invalidated multiple registrations.
“The legacy system had no way of verifying at the front end whether you had already been captured. Once the record comes into the system, it flags it as a duplicate or that the person already exists in the database.
“You would only have one identity generated for you. The other record goes into a deduplication bucket where it is invalidated. One of the things that this Act has done is to cement our role in capturing biometrics. Private and public sector organisations will no longer capture biometrics independently. They will validate identities through API integration with NIMC.
“The telcos are already doing that with us. If you need a SIM card, they capture your facial biometrics, which are matched against our database in real time to confirm that you are who you claim to be. We’re using biometric validation to tighten security around identity confirmation.”
“Exceptional individuals like Professor Soyinka do not come often in a generation, men who illuminate the paths for humanity to follow across diverse endeavours, who are not afraid to go against convention, and who do not let the man die in the face of oppression and injustice.”
These were the words of President Bola Tinubu, with which he rolled out the red carpets at the Presidential Villa Abuja, to celebrate Wole Soyinka as “a gift we will always treasure” as the renowned playwright, author and activist turned 92 on Monday.
In the emotion-dripping tribute, conveyed through a the State House on Sunday, the President spoke of Soyinka’s contributions to literature, democracy and good governance, describing him as one of Nigeria’s most influential public figures.
Praising the nonagenarian for showcasing courage and commitment to justice, Tinubu said: “Today, I celebrate a global icon and our nation’s literary star, Professor Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, on his 92nd birthday, July 13.”
The President recalled Soyinka’s achievements, including becoming the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, and also reflected on Soyinka’s role in Nigeria’s democratic struggle, reminiscing on Professor Soyinka’s “valiant struggle against military dictatorship for decades, and his efforts in the June 12 struggle, for which we were both in the trenches.”
Describing the literary icon as a national treasure, Tinubu said: “Today, I salute one of our nation’s living repositories of history, knowledge, and courage. That he is with us is a gift we will always treasure. I thank him for his undying faith in the Nigerian project and wise counsel.”
The President said he joined people around the world in celebrating Soyinka’s influence on generations of writers, scholars and activists, adding: “I wish ‘Kongi’ many more years in excellent health.”
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