The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) says it has attracted more than $24 billion in investments into Nigeria, highlighting the growing strategic importance of the country’s oil and gas free zones to national development.

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The Authority also expressed support for calls seeking a 10-year exemption for operators in special economic and free zones from the provisions of the newly introduced tax laws.

OGFZA’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bamanga Usman Jada, disclosed this at a town hall meeting involving the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and OGFZA licensees at the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone in Rivers State.

According to Jada, granting a decade-long tax exemption would give operators the “adaptation space” required to adjust to evolving tax regimes, while sustaining investor confidence and business growth.

He noted that Nigeria’s free zones have already generated hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs nationwide.

Jada said OGFZA aligns with a similar appeal earlier made by the Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) during a stakeholder engagement organised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, which called for a minimum 10-year transition period for free zone operators under the new tax framework.

Drawing parallels with global best practices, he cited the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai and the Sohar Free Zone in Oman as examples of how energy-focused free zones have driven industrial growth, attracted billions of dollars in investments and boosted employment.

He added that OGFZA-regulated free zones in Nigeria currently host over 200 enterprises, have attracted more than $24 billion in investments, and created hundreds of thousands of jobs, underscoring the importance of strong incentives and effective regulation in accelerating industrialisation.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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