Nigeria’s federal government is to partner the Akwa Ibom State Government towards establishing an oil and gas free zone in the State,  the official website of Obong Umana Okon Umana informed.

Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority’s (OGFZA) Managing Director/CEO, Umana Umana, said the establishment of the trade zone would attract investments, create jobs and fast-track economic development, The Nation reported.

The agency chief recalled that in 2015, the investment inflow into free trade zones was about 65.5% of the total investment into Nigeria in the last 10 years, a feat he said was acknowledged by The Financial Times of London magazine which rated Nigeria’s oil and gas free zone at Onne with regards to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as the most successful in Africa.

Umana declared that the benefits of the oil and gas free zones have helped to deepen the economy of Nigeria and have placed Nigeria on the map as a leading player in the oil and gas economy of Sub-Saharan Africa. He added that OGFZs have attracted all major oil companies which are now using the Free Zones as a hub for their business transactions covering the entire Gulf of Guinea up to Angola and South Africa.