President Bola Tinubu’s recent announcement of a $600 million investment by A.P. Moller-Maersk into Nigeria’s port sector has been met with scepticism after the company clarified that no such agreement was finalized.
This revelation emerged shortly after President Tinubu, at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, claimed to have secured a substantial investment to enhance Nigeria’s ports.
During the event, a statement attributed to Maersk’s chairman, Robert Maersk Uggla, suggested a strong commitment to Nigeria: “We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships.” However, Maersk officials later refuted the existence of a signed deal, emphasizing that while discussions with the Nigerian government were ongoing, no concrete investment plans had been established.
“Maersk has been present in Nigeria for 35 years and, as a global provider of logistics services, we remain committed to developing opportunities for growth for people, the port sector, and businesses locally,” the company stated. They further explained that they are in a regular dialogue with the administration but could not comment on any specific investment talks due to the regulatory quiet period preceding their first-quarter results announcement.
The discrepancy has raised questions about the accuracy of the government’s public statements and the actual progress of negotiations with major international investors. President Tinubu’s office had detailed the discussion between him and Uggla as a significant stride towards modernizing and automating Nigerian ports to alleviate congestion, particularly in Lagos, the commercial capital. The president also emphasized that the purported investment would bolster the government’s own $1 billion initiative aimed at reconstructing seaports across the eastern and western regions of Nigeria.
“A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere,” President Tinubu had said, highlighting the potential for expanded revenue opportunities and reduced trans-shipments from larger to smaller ships.
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