President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Friday to participate in the 5th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

He noted that apart from the Nigerian leader, the one-day meeting would be attended by leaders of major gas-producing nations of the world.

They include Algeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Bolivia, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and Norway, which account for 70 per cent and 80 per cent of global gas reserves and production respectively.

“The idea of the GECF was first mooted in 2001 when the First Ministerial Meeting held in Tehran, Iran, while the First GECF otherwise called Gas Summit, took place in Doha, Qatar in 2011 with Nigeria represented at the highest level.

“Indeed, President Buhari had attended the Third Gas Summit in Tehran in November 2015. This Fifth Gas Summit in Malabo is the first time the biennial meeting will be hosted in Africa,” the statement read.

It added, “Recall that on November 19, 2019, President Buhari had received Mr Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, the Special Envoy of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who brought a special invitation to the Nigerian leader to attend the 5th Gas Summit as well as thanking Nigeria for her support towards the hosting.”

During the visit, the President had noted that Nigeria was more of a gas-producing rather than oil-producing country.

According to him, that fact had long been established and if the nation had followed the plans laid out in the 1970s for the gas sector, it ought to have had 12 trains by early 1980s instead of being on just six trains of exporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Shehu said the Nigerian delegation would also use the opportunity to discuss current trends in the global gas market, potential policies for the energy sector, and opportunities for collaboration.

At the end of the 5th Gas Summit, the Malabo Declaration is expected to be adopted.

President Buhari would be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.

After the summit, the President would head for Daura in Katsina State on a five-day official visit. (Channels TV)

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