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Tag: Shell

  • Shell spent N41.1bn on projects in Niger Delta in 13 years, says Spokesman

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Wednesday said it had disbursed N41.1 billion to fund 37 cluster development projects in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Abia states in 13 years.

    Mr Igo Weli, the SPDC General Manager, External Relations disclosed this at the “Kou General Memoradum of Understanding (GMoU) Cluster Development Board Livelihood Programme Graduation Ceremony” held in Warri.

    Represented by Mr Evans Krukrubo, SPDC, Manager, External Relations, Weli said the amount spanned between 2006 till date.

    He said 158 beneficiaries of the training programme in Kou cluster, in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa, would be presented with starter packs to enable them to kick-start their businesses.

    “The communities benefiting from this scheme are: Agge, Agge Palm Bush, Azambiri, Ogbeintu, Orobiri and Amazor in Ekeremor Local Government Area.

    “The beneficiaries have been trained and presented with materials which include: 50 units of Deepsea fishing boats and accessories.

    “50 pieces of 40HP Yamaha engines for 50 beneficiaries.

    “72 persons trained in the Kou cluster-wide Women Skill Acwuisition and Empowerment Programme will be presented with starter packs.

    “36 beneficiaries in the cluster-wide Youth Empowerment Programme will be given Motorcycles,” he said.

    Weli said SPDC was committed to increasing its social investment to host communities in Nigeria.

    He urged the people to create the enabling environment to allow the company run its operations without disturbance.

    Mr Ogboriyai Ogbari, Head, Petroleum Department, Ministry of Mineral Resources, Bayelsa, who represented the state government commended SPDC for the gesture.

    Mr Patrick Igbosaibigha, the Board Chairman, Kou Cluster, thanked the SPDC for the gesture and assured the company of their cooperation.

    “We encourage you not to relent in this great task of developing our communities which has improved the lives of our rural dwellers through skill acquisition training,” he said.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mr Alfred Ayefa thanked the SPDC and the Bayelsa Government for the gesture.

     

  • Niger Delta Crisis: We cannot relocate to Warri owing to insecurity – Shell

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) on Tuesday said that the relocation of its operational headquarters to Warri, Delta State is impossible due to the subsisting insecurity in the area and other places in the Niger Delta region of the country.
    The Royal Dutch company canvassed this position in a memorandum as well as oral presentation at a Public Hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) on the the matter at the National Assembly.
    The hearing was entitled: “Need for Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria SPDC to return its Operational Headquarters to Warri, Delta State”.
    At the hearing, the company’s representative Dr. Steve Okwuosah said that militancy, pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities still hold sway in Warri and other parts of Niger Delta region and so would not allow for a smooth operation of company’s facilities in the area.
    He said that the company had lost billions of dollars in its operations in the region owing to insecurity and called for the protection of its facilities by the relevant security agencies of the federal government.
    Nevertheless, the House Committee, the Delta State Government as well as host communities of the companies operating in the region had insisted that the operational headquarters of the company must be relocated to Warri for economic reasons.
    Both the Secretary to the Delta State Government Hon. Festus Ovie Agas and Chief Edward Ekpoko Chairman Ijaw,Isoko and Itsekiri Leaders Forum had insisted that the company must relocate its operational headquarters to Warri for smooth operations.
    They had insisted that militancy and pipeline vandalism had been reduced to the barerest minimum in the ares and so could not ‘ve been adduced by the company for failing to relocate to its operational headquarters.
    Moreorover, Chairman of the House Committee Hon. Victor Nwokolo in a remark said that insecurity can no longer be adduced as reason for the non-relocation of the company to its operational headquarters.
    He had insisted that the Delta State is now the investment destination for oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region of the country.
    Other lawmakers as Hon.Daniel Reyeniju (Delta, PDP) Hon. Goodluck Opia (Imo, APC) and Hon.Toby Okechukwu(Enugu, PDP) blamed the federal and state governments for prevalence insecurity in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
    Reyeniju particularly lamented that the Delta State Government that has 55 percent stake in the company’s assets could not be adequately represented at the investigative public hearing.

  • Ijaw youths agitate over $13.5bn Zabazaba Deepwater Project

    Ijaw youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), worldwide have expressed concerned over delays in the signing of the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the $13.5 billion Zabazaba Deepwater Project.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports spokesman of the Council, Daniel Dasimaka, in a statement, expressed displeasure of the IYC on Thursday in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State.

    “We do not want the Zabazaba Deepeater Project to go the way of the Brass LNG which never saw the light of the day. We want jobs for our youths. We want the local economy of the Niger Delta region as well as the national economy in general to grow.

    “We want development in the Niger Delta region. We want peace. Hence, we condemn the unnecessary delay in the signing of the FID for the Zabazaba oilfield,” said IYC National President, Barrister Oweilaemi Pereotubo.

    Oweilaemi said the IYC is deeply worried that the 2020 first production date of the Zabazaba oilfield may be compromised if the FID remains unsigned.

    “The $13.5 billion Zabazaba oilfield is located in the Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 offshore Nigeria in the Niger Delta of the Gulf of Guinea.

    “Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) are jointly developing the project. Nigeria Agip Exploration is the operator of the project.

    “It will be a major boost to the country’s economy and the local content initiative being promoted and prioritised by the present government. In particular, the deepwater project will support small and medium enterprises in Nigeria following the decision by the developers for in-country fabrication and integration of the topsides of the Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels.

    “The Zabazaba deepwater field is estimated to hold 560 million barrels of oil equivalent (MBOE), which will increase the country’s daily crude oil production.

    “When it becomes fully operational, the project is expected to generate at least $8 billion for Nigeria.

    “The impact on the Nigerian economy would be unprecedented, and the multiplier effect on the local economies of the catchment areas in the Niger Delta will be huge.

    “Agip and Shell acquired OPL 245, which was named the Zabazaba field, in 2012 for $1.3 billion. The acquisition has been the subject of serial corruption investigations and prosecutions in Italy and Nigeria.

    “Only last Monday, one Nigerian NGO and three International NGOs presented a joint report in which they said Nigeria lost an estimated $6 billion to the controversial OPL 245 deal.

    “Human and Environmental Development Agency (HEDA), Global Witness, Re: Common and the Corner House commissioned Resources for Development Consulting to do the report on their behalf. Agip and Shell have consistently maintained their innocence,” the IYC statement read.

     

  • Bonga oil spill: Victims urge FG to prevail on Shell to pay $3.6bn fine

    Artisanal fishermen in the Niger Delta, affected by the Dec. 2011 Bonga oil spill, have urged the Federal Government to compel Shell to pay the $3.6 billion fine for the spill.

    Rev Samuel Ayadi, Coordinator, Niger Delta zone, Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of a Lagos Federal High Court, on June 20, upheld the $3.6 billion fine imposed on Shell by the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency NOSDRA, dismissing Shell’s appeal.

    Ayadi, lamented that Shell Nigeria Production and Exploration Company (SNEPCO), had yet to comply with the court order, saying that the judgment was a lifeline to the fishermen.

    Following the Dec. 20, 2011 spill, NOSDRA in March 2015, imposed a $3.6 billion fine on Shell for discharging 40,000 barrels of crude into the Atlantic Ocean.

    The fine comprised $1.8 billion as compensation for the damage to the natural resources and consequential loss of income by the affected shoreline communities as well as a punitive damage of $1.8 billion.

    NAN recalls that the Chairman of NOSDRA board, Sen. Ayo Akinyerule, had urged SNEPCO to pay the fine to enable the agency to compensate the impacted fishermen and communities.

    .Ayadi said that the fishermen thrown out of business by the incident had patiently waited for the litigation processes to end.

    “The Bonga oil spill was a heavy blow to us artisanal fishermen. Ironically the spill from the oilfield named after the local fish specie, Bonga, was what led to the near extinction of the specie.

    “We can no longer see Bonga fish in our dishes because the spill wiped out generations of the specie.

    “The chemical dispersant spread to dissolve the leaked crude is very toxic to fish and other marine creatures.

    “We were directed by NOSDRA to pull out of fishing to avoid catching contaminated fish that would jeopardise public health.

    “The income loss is in addition to the damage done by the contamination of our fishing gear, outboard engines and nets.

    “Since the three months appeal window has lapsed, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on SNEPCO to comply with the court judgment and pay the fine so that NOSDRA can compensate the victims.

    “We are counting on the fatherly disposition of President Buhari to prevail on Shell to comply with the court’s judgment so that we shall return to our traditional fishing occupation.

    “Our return to sea will also guarantee that we play our own part in ensuring food security and reducing our dependence on imported fish,” Ayadi said.

    Recall that on Dec. 20, 2011, during loading of crude at Bonga fields within OML 118 situated 120 kilometres off the Atlantic coastline, the export line ruptured and discharged crude into the sea.

    The export line, according to a joint investigation report by NOSDRA and SNEPCO spewed about 40,000 barrels (6.4 million litres) of crude oil into the sea.

     

  • Shell’s oil spill pollutes over 113 hectares in Bayelsa

    Shell’s oil spill pollutes over 113 hectares in Bayelsa

    Leakage from an oilfield operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) at Aghoro community in Bayelsa has discharged some 1,114 barrels of crude oil into the environment.
    The leakage has adversely affected the fishing vocation of residents who had withdrawn from fishing to pave way for clean up.
    The resulting oil spill impacted and polluted an estimated area of 113.03 hectares, according to a joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report of the incident.
    A disagreement among community leaders in the areas affected by the leak stalled the release of the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report of the oil spill.
    Community leaders, who participated in the JIV to determine the cause of the spill, reportedly refused to sign the report.
    The refusal was attributed to wide disparity between the impacted areas claimed by Shell and the community, but Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, the Media Relations Manager at SPDC, said that the grey areas had been sorted out.
    The report indicated that only 247.5 out of the 1,114 of SPDC’s crude blend had been recovered at the spill site, while the remaining were yet to be accounted for.
    According to the spill incident report, the oil leak was reported on May 17, but the joint visit could not be immediately conducted until June 23.
    The report said the spill was caused by equipment failure resulting from weak integrity of the 24 inch Trans Ramos Pipeline giving rise to cracks on the pipeline at Aghoro in Ekeremor Local Government area of Bayelsa.
    Representatives of the host community, National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Bayelsa Ministry of Environment and SPDC, who conducted the investigation agreed on the findings and signed the report.
    Repair work on the leaking pipeline is underway, while recovery of spilled oil from the site is still ongoing.
    Reacting to the development, Odugbesan expressed regret about incessant spills on the Trans Ramos Pipeline, saying that although the May 17 spill was traced to equipment failure, other leaks were predominantly caused by sabotage.
    “The rate of spills on the Trans Ramos Pipeline is very worrisome, for instance between April and May 26, spill incidents were reported on that line and out of these, 18 of them were caused by sabotage, eight were operational,” he said.
     

  • JTF, Shell deny coercing Bayelsa community to endorse spill report

    The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta and oil major, Shell on Monday denied allegations of coercing the leadership of Aghoro 1 community in Bayelsa to sign a disputed report on oil spillage.

    A disagreement in the areas impacted by an oil leak on the Trans Ramos Pipeline within Shell’s oilfield at Aghoro communities in Bayelsa has stalled the release of a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) report of the oil spill.

    Community leaders, who participated in the JIV to determine the cause of the spill reportedly refused to sign the report.

    The refusal was attributed to wide disparity between the impacted areas claimed by Shell and the community.

    Mr Victor Akamu, Chairman of the Community Development Committee of Aghoro 1, had alleged that Shell connived with the JTF to force and intimidation, to compel the community to sign the report.

    Akamu told News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Yenagoa that JTF summoned the community’s leadership to Yenagoa on Aug. 23 to force them to sign the JIV report but that the leaders refused to sign.

    He said the team from Aghoro were labelled pipeline vandals and were profiled into the database of the JTF.

    “We were taken to a room where detailed profiles of all of us were taken, including our finger prints, biometric details and our photographs.

    “We were temporarily held down for almost three hours profiling before we were eventually told to go.

    “I wanted to ask if it is part of JTF’s job to force a community to sign a JIV report.

    “Shell should stop using JTF to intimidate our community. For the past 20 years, there is no history of pipeline vandalism.

    “This leak was due to a ruptured pipeline, due to corrosion yet they call us vandals, it is unacceptable,” Akamu said.

    However, reacting to the allegation of intimidation, Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager of Shell, denied use of force to compel the company’s host communities to sign the JIV report.

    “Yes, there are issues with the JIV report. The representative of Aghoro 1 community did not agree with a portion of the JIV report but we have not used force.

    “SPDC does not coerce parties to sign JIV reports,” Odugbesan said.

    Similarly, the Commander of the JTF, Rear Adm. Apochi Suleiman, dismissed the allegations of intimidation made by Aghoro community.

    He said that the military waded into the crisis to encourage both parties to adopt dialogue to resolve their differences to avert breach of peace.

    “We conduct our duties in compliance with our rules of engagement. We invited the parties to mediate and encourage them to dialogue and use the established channels of resolving conflicts.

    “I told them to resolve their differences on the negotiating table so that the operation is not disrupted. Our mandate is to safeguard oil facilities and we do not want the disagreement to degenerate further.

    “We got reports that some persons were disrupting ongoing repairs of the ruptured pipelines and that was why some people were profiled.

    “I was emphatic that we cannot tolerate anyone taking the law into his hands,” Suleiman said.

    NAN investigations showed that the leak, which occurred on May 17 this year, discharged about 1,114 barrels of crude oil into the environment and polluted the Ramos River and farmlands.

    The draft JIV report said the 1,114 barrels of crude impacted a total land area of 113.3 hectares in Aghoro 1 but the community claimed that the impacted area was 1825 hectares.

     

  • Shell, Bayelsa community disagree on spill impact

    Shell, Bayelsa community disagree on spill impact

    A disagreement in the areas impacted by an oil leak on the Trans Ramos Pipeline within Shell’s oilfield at Aghoro communities in Bayelsa has stalled a joint investigation of the spill.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the leak , which occurred on May 17, 2018 discharged a yet to be ascertained volume of crude oil into the environment and polluted the river, farmlands and surroundings.

    Shell said a Joint Investigative Visit (JIV) to ascertain the cause of the oil leak had been concluded but that the report was yet to be signed by all the parties.

    Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Media Relations Manager at SPDC, told NAN on Saturday in Yenagoa that the joint investigation was conducted by the oil major, representatives of the host community, government and regulatory agencies.

    Odugbesan, however, said that report of the JIV, which commenced early last month was ready and awaiting signing by the communities but declined to give reasons for the delay in releasing the JIV report, adding that the oil firm had commenced clean up of impacted sites.

    The JIV report is expected to unravel the cause of the spill, volume of oil discharged and the area adversely impacted, and volume of oil recovered in the spill incident as well as serve as a basis to determine compensation.

    NAN learnt that Shell and representatives of the host communities had a sharp disagreement on the size of areas affected by the spill and hence refused to sign the report, which had disrupted ongoing clean up of the site.

    Mr Sunday Benjamin, Chairman, Community Development Committee, Aghoro 1, who participated in the JIV said that the communities had argued that the spill had spread to wider areas and affected more places than the JIV covered.

    “The cause of the stalemate is that Shell refused to accommodate satellite communities. They did not allow the JIV to be extensive. They excluded the satellite communities and fishing settlements.

    “They only captured Aghoro 1 and 2, leaving other fishing settlements impacted by the crude oil that leaked into the waters. They recorded 33 acres for Aghoro 1 and 113 acres for Aghoro 2.

    “We eventually signed our portion because we did not want delays in the process and our land affected was not much but Aghoro 2 people refused to sign that is why the JIV report is delayed.

    “Everyone agreed that the spill was traced to ruptured pipeline on three points, due to corrosion on the Trans Ramos Pipeline,” Benjamin said.

    Reacting to the development, Dr Peter Idabor, Director-General of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency, told NAN in a telephone interview that the JIV was `‘inconclusive’’, following the disagreements.

    “ From the feedback from our officers in Yenagoa, the JIV is inconclusive,” Idabor said.

     

  • Poisonous gas from SPDC ruptured pipe poses health risks in Delta state

    Poisonous gas purportedly from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) ruptured gas pipeline is presently wreaking havoc in Odimodi, a federated community in Burutu one constituency of Delta state.

    TheNewsGuru gathers Odimodi federated communities have been devastated by oil pollution allegedly occasioned by SPDC pipeline leakage causing emission of poisonous gas into the air.

    Today, at plenary session of the Delta State House of Assembly, the member representing the Burutu one constituency, Daniel Yingi, raised alarm of the development, and moved a motion for the House to address the issues under matters of urgent public importance.

    The lawmaker noted that also affected by the spill were farm lands, fish ponds, rivers which is the source of their drinking water and aquatic lives in the community thereby bringing untold hardship, hunger and starvation.

    Yingi said life had become more difficult for the people as they now depend on water from Warri for drinking purpose as the rivers have been polluted while fishing which is the major occupation can no longer be carried out.

    He said the motion became necessary in order to draw the attention of the State Government to send relief materials and medicals to enable the people have hope.

    Yingi, who is the Chairman House Committee on Environment, Oil and Gas, said it was more worrisome as Shell had not entered talks with the community as the youths were getting agitated.

    Speaking in support of the motion, Oboro Preyor, Kennedy Daubry, Daniel Mayuku, Efe Ofobruku and Johnson Erijo said oil spillage was very dangerous to human and aquatic lives hence the need for the people to get adequate relief materials and medicals in order to enhance their well-being.

    The lawmakers expressed concern at the attitude of Shell since the spillage occurred saying their action could jeopardize the peace in the creeks.

    They argued that Nigeria depended on revenue from crude oil hence government and multinational oil companies ought to give priority attention to such matters in order to ensure peace.

    The lawmakers urged Governor Okowa to prevail on Shell, NOSDRA and other stakeholders to clean up the community as it would be dangerous to have a repeat of the Ogoni situation in the State.

    The motion, seconded by Kennedy Daubry, was adopted by the House when put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Sheriff Oborevwori.

    The House, therefore, adopted a resolution urging the State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to as a matter of urgency direct the Commissioner, Bureau for Special Duties to send relief materials to Odimodi federated communities.

    The House also directed the Delta State Ministry of Health to send medical team without further delay to the community to ascertain the health condition of the people as a result of the poisonous gas being emitted into the air space.

    The resolution called on SPDC to immediately clean the environment, remediate and restore it to its original state and also release the report of the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) with a view to avoiding the breakdown of law and order in Odimodi federated communities.

     

  • Malabu Scandal: Trial of nine Shell, Eni executives commences June 20

    The trial of nine current and former executives or contractors from Italy’s Eni and British-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell, including ENI Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi, over a 1.3 billion dollars oil deal in Nigeria, will begin in Milan on June 20.

    According to a Reuters review of court filings on Monday, the nine executives, were accused by Italian prosecutors of paying bribes to secure the licence to explore a large offshore oilfield in 2011.

    Recall that seven years ago, two middlemen launched civil lawsuits to seek payment for helping arrange a 1.3 billion dollars oil deal in Nigeria.

    If found guilty, the individuals on trial face possible jail terms for bribery.

    All deny wrongdoing, as do Shell and Eni.

    The criminal trial will proceed in Milan on June 20 after a short initial hearing on May 14.

    Some of the key issues in the trial came to light during the two separate civil suits filed by a Nigerian, Emeka Obi, and a former Russian diplomat, Ednan Agaev, a Reuters review of court filings shows.

    Both men said they were owed millions of dollars by a Nigerian company, Malabu Oil and Gas, for arranging meetings with Shell and Eni.

    The judge in Obi’s case upheld evidence that Obi arranged meetings between former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, who was convicted of money laundering in an unrelated case in France in 2007, and representatives of Eni, and that he negotiated on Etete’s behalf with Shell.

    The judge held that in addition, documents produced in Agaev’s case showed that when Eni and Shell paid for the licence, they deposited more than one billion dollars into a Nigerian government escrow account in London but most of the money later ended up with Malabu, which was controlled by Etete.

    The judges found that, in a conflict of interests, Etete had a stake in Malabu and was also oil minister when the Nigerian government awarded the company the licence to explore the field in 1998, a decision that was reversed in 2001, reinstated in 2006 and later challenged by Shell.

    These details helped Italian prosecutors put together their case, industry insiders say.

    Etete denies charges of bribery for channelling money from the deal to Nigerian politicians.

    He and his lawyers did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email.

    Shell said by email that if improper payments are shown to have taken place, they were not made with Shell’s “knowledge, authorisation or on its behalf.”

    The company said it believes the judges will find there is “no case” against Shell or its ex-employees.

    Eni said by email that it could not comment on the case. It has previously said it concluded the deal with the Nigerian government without the involvement of intermediaries and that it had no commercial agreement with Malabu.

    But in her decision on Obi’s civil case in London in July 2013, Lady Justice Elizabeth Gloster upheld Mr Etete’s control of Malabu, court records show.

    Basing her decision on testimony and documents, she said Etete had a stake in Malabu when it was awarded OPL 245 in 1998 and had been “the principal beneficial owner” since later that year.

    She said Mr Obi had meetings with Shell representatives before the OPL 245 deal, though she did not say how many, and that he frequently met officials from Eni.

    On one occasion, Etete, Descalzi, Obi and Agaev sat together in a Milan restaurant at a dinner for the “the main personalities” to meet and assess the seriousness of their intentions, she said.

    She said Obi should be awarded at least $100 million for his work as a “dealmaker”, the court records show.

    Agaev launched arbitration to seek a $65 million fee from Malabu for his work as a go-between and eventually reached an out-of-court settlement, details of which were not disclosed.

    While the arbitration was under way, he asked a court in New York to freeze a Nigerian government account in London that held 74 million dollars, most of it due to be transferred to Malabu.

    The court said it had no authority to freeze the money but reviewed documents showing Eni and Shell had deposited just over one billion dollars into the account as payment for OPL 245 in May 2011.

    A further 208 million dollars was released from escrow as a “signature bonus” for the government, court records show.

    Around 800 million dollars was transferred to Malabu in August 2011 and the rest was frozen pending the civil cases.

    Agaev declined to comment about his civil case or the Milan trial.

    Obi could not be reached for comment and attorneys who have represented him declined to pass on his contact details.

    Eni and Shell said their payments were above board as they went directly to the Nigerian government.

    JP Morgan Chase, which ran the escrow account, has denied negligence.

  • US technology frightens mono-economies – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump in Washington has said the advancement of the United States in terms of technology is frightening to mono-economies.

    TheNewsGuru reports President Buhari who was on a 3-day working visit to the US said the threat is majorly for nations, especially those in Africa that overly depend on crude oil to drive their economies.

    The President of the largest democracy in Africa, being the first African leader to visit President Trump in the White House, also harped on the need for the US to patronize Nigeria’s crude oil in the stead of Shell’s.

    “The progress made by the United States in technology is certainly frightening for us that are mono-economy. I hope technology will allow them use our crude for its quality, for petrochemicals, being light one, vis-à-vis what they are getting from Shell,” he said.

    In his reaction, President Trump stressed the need to take down certain trade barriers between the United States and Nigeria, while also revealing that the US is working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria.

    “The United States is currently working to expand trade and commercial ties with African nations, including Nigeria; to create jobs and wealth in all our countries. We hope to be the economic partner of choice for nations across the continent and around the world.

    “Nigeria is a valued partner and a great friend. The United States is committed to working alongside Nigeria as we seek a future of strength, property, and peace for both of our countries,” he said.

    TheNewsGuru reports Trump went further to say that he is pleased with Nigeria as one of the US largest trade partners in Africa.

    He said his country is looking further to growing the trade relationships with Nigeria based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.

    The US President revealed that his country gave Nigeria over $1 billion in aid every year; “And we have already started talking with the President about taking down the trade barriers”.

    “Very substantial barriers to the United States trading with Nigeria. So, we think that we are owed that,” he added.

    The US President, who acknowledged steps President Buhari has taken in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the largest democracy in Africa, said it will be easier for the US to invest in Nigeria if the barriers were taken down.

    “President Buhari has also taken steps to fight corruption and improve the Nigerian business climate and most of all and to me helping rip down the trade barriers.

    “It will make it easier for the United States and companies to invest, and we will be investing substantially in Nigeria if they can create that level playing field that we have to very much ask for and maybe demand,” he said.

    When asked what the US government is doing to repatriate stolen and illicit funds back to Nigeria to fund critical infrastructure, Trump said “We have also discussed all of those topics at length over the last period of time”.

    He added that “In terms of corruption, Nigeria has a reputation as you understand very well for very massive corruption. I also know the President has been able to cut that down very substantially.

    “We talked about it. He is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.

    “We have a lot of people in this country, and frankly speaking the country itself, that invest in Nigeria.

    “So, cutting down on that element and a corrupt element is very important to us. And the President will be able to do that”.

    The US President stressed that more than anything else he discussed with President Buhari was US agricultural products coming into Nigeria, which he said Nigeria wants but that there have certain barriers that do not allow that to happen.

    “So for the good of our farmers, US farmers and for the good of Nigeria, and all of Africa, it is very important that we are able to sell our great agricultural products into Nigeria.

    “That will happen and we are going to be working on that right away,” he said.