Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
A deal to reduce gas flaring and encourage diversification of energy resources while cutting down poverty through the creation of more job opportunities has been signed between Nigeria and Morocco.
The deal was one of the three different agreements sealed on Monday by both the Nigerian and Moroccan governments in Rabat, the Moroccan capital. They are expected to boost economies of the two African nations.
President Muhammadu Buhari travelled to Morocco on a 2-day visit.
A statement issued on Monday by spokesman of the President, Mr Garba Shehu, disclosed that the three agreements signed by Nigeria and Morocco included a regional gas pipeline that will see Nigeria providing gas to countries in West Africa sub-region that extend to Morocco and Europe; the establishment of of a chemical plant in Nigeria for producing ammonia and its derivatives; and the training of young citizens in the agricultural sector.
Mr Shehu explained that the signing of the agreements was witnessed by President Buhari and King of Morocco, His Majesty King Mohammed V1.
Speaking on the feasibility study of the agreement on the pipeline, which was signed by the Group General Manager, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Farouq Said Garba, and Mrs Amina Benkhadra, Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbon and Mines, and to be concluded by July 2018, the President’s spokesman said the construction of the pipeline will be phased and based on increasing needs of the countries crossed, and Europe, for the period of 25 years.
The Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP), designed to be 5,660km long, will encourage utilisation of gas in the sub-region for cooking, and discourage desertification, Mr Shehu said.
At the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Authority (NSIA), Mr Uche Orji, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Management of Phosphate in Morocco, Mr Mostafa Terrab, signed a Memorandom of Understanding for the development of a chemical plant in Nigeria for producing ammonia and its derivatives.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and his Moroccan counterpart, Mr Aziz Akhannouch, signed a cooperation agreement on vocational training and technical supervision, which will enhance skills on better management of agricultural outfits in Nigeria.
President Buhari, who was received by a large crowd from the airport to the Rabat Royal Palace, assured the King of Morocco of Nigeria’s full commitment to the actualisation of all the agreements signed.
