If we followed plans, we would have been earning more from gas than petroleum now, says President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday hosted Special Envoy of President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, at State House, Abuja, and declared that if Nigeria had followed her own programme for exploiting its gas reserves, the country would have been earning more money from the product than from petroleum now.

The Special Envoy and Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, had brought a message from his President on the forthcoming meeting of Heads of State of gas exporting nations, which Equatorial Guinea would be hosting.

President Buhari declared: “We share a lot of things in common with Equatorial Guinea. These include geographical neighbourliness and neighbourliness in terms of resources. Nigeria is more of a gas producing, rather than oil producing country. That fact had long been established. If we had followed our own plans, laid out in the 1970s, for the gas sector, we should have had 12 trains by early 1980s, instead of being on just six trains now.”

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the Special Envoy thanked Nigeria for the support she gave Equatorial Guinea to host the first summit of gas exporting countries in the world, taking place on African soil.