Adewale Sanyaolu and Chinwendu Obienyi
Nigeria’s downstream sector records a yearly income of $56 billion, Mr. Abayomi Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer, Enyo Retail and Supply Limited, has said.
Awobokun made this known at an interactive session with journalists yesterday in Lagos. He said the sector could boost the nation’s revenue above the $56 billion annually if more investments could be encouraged.
Awobokun urged the Federal Government to encourage more investments into the downstream sector to unlock business potential in the oil and gas industry. He also urged the government to look inward and ensure that challenges facing the sector are addressed, stressing that lack of good road network to the terminal where marketers load products poses serious challenge to the downstream sector. According to him, the government needs to do something in that direction to boost the nation’s revenue drive.
On the uniqueness of his retail outlets, the oil and gas entreprenuer said that in the next five years, players in the downstream sector would witness drastic change in the way businesses are conducted. He said that many of the players in the sector would end up merging with the growing ones, adding that Nigeria cannot build a strong downstream without technological innovations and designs.
“That technological innovation is what Enyo has brought into the industry. We see existing downstream stations already slipping into being too comfortable and forgetting to come up with new ideas. We are not here to just sell petroleum products to our customers, we also want customers’ satisfaction,” Awobokun said.