ABUJA, (The Southern African Times) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said the government would fully utilize the enormous gas resources in the country to drive industrialised and uplift the economy.
Buhari, while launching the “The Decade Of Gas In Nigeria”, aimed at developing the industry here in the next 10 years, said given the country’s potential of about 600 trillion cubic feet of gas, the commodity has enormous potential to diversify Nigeria’s economy.
“The rising global demand for cleaner energy sources has offered Nigeria an opportunity to exploit gas resources for the good of the country. We intend to seize this opportunity,” the Nigerian leader said.
“It is well known that Nigeria is a gas nation with a little oil, but the country has focused on oil over the years,” he said, pointing out that his administration had prioritized gas development and recorded remarkable progress.
The declaration of the decade of gas in Nigeria was a bold statement to demonstrate the resolve of the administration that gas development and utilization should be a national priority to stimulate economic growth, further improve Nigeria’s energy mix, drive investments, and provide the much-needed jobs for the citizens in the country, Buhari said.
According to him, the major objective for the gas sector is to transform Nigeria into an industrialized nation with gas playing a major role.