Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has deleted a tweet from his X platform (formerly Twitter), following Maersk’s refusal to confirm his claim of a $600 million investment in Nigeria’s port.
Onanuga initially shared the statement, stating that the investment was secured during a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh over the weekend.
According to him, A.P Moller-Maersk chairman, Robert Maersk Uggla, discussed the investment with President Tinubu during a sideline meeting focusing on energy development and growth.
The statement attributed to Uggla declared: “We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships.”
However, Maersk’s response to Arise TV’s inquiry neither contradicted nor confirmed Onanuga’s claims. The company stated, “Maersk has been present in Nigeria for 35 years…However, we are not able to comment on any investment talks.”
Analyst Mohammed Faruk shed light on the situation, pointing out the complexity and regulatory constraints faced by Maersk during a quiet period preceding its quarterly financial report. This period limits the extent to which the company can divulge information about ongoing negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Trade is expected to release a statement affirming the investment collaboration, as per Daily Trust findings.
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