Ikpea: There Will Be Light at the End of the Tunnel Amid Nigeria’s Economic Crisis
The Lee Engineering & Construction Company Limited, founded in 1991, has become a conglomerate dealing in retail, tourism, aviation, and manufacturing, including exploration and production. It has a fabrication workshop measuring 2,515sqm, complete with blasting/painting bays and state-of-the-art equipment. The company, Lee Engineering Group and Allied Companies Limited (including Lee Engineering, Tribet Ltd [travels and tours], Tribet Aviation, Tribet Purified Waters, and Lee Oasis), has at least 2,000 employees. Its Group Executive Chairman, Leemon Ikpea, has made a case for economic reforms of the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expressing optimism that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Bayo Akinloye writes
Rather than protest, the Chief Executive Officer of Lee Engineering & Construction Company Limited preaches patience. Rather than revolt, Ikpea recommends resilience. Instead of fury, the oil and gas billionaire magnate encourages a futuristic outlook while admitting that the current economic hardship also exerts a toll on him and his businesses.
“I don’t see any reason for protest. The president has not spent up to a year in office. In every society, in any part of the world, if a reform is in place, some people will definitely suffer; the majority of the people will feel the impact,” the billionaire businessman explains.
He says, “However, that impact will not remain forever. After some time, light is seen at the end of the tunnel. In my mind’s eyes, the greatness of Nigeria is on the horizon: Nigeria will be great again. It is not uncommon to expect opposition, and it is apparent some are taking advantage of the situation.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Lee Engineering & Construction Company Limited sees a ray hope of hope amid Nigeria’s gloom, tranquility about overwhelming chaos and prosperity as millions of Nigerians grapple with poverty. His basis for hope is not unfounded. A self-made, ingenious oil and gas magnate reiterates his conviction that hard choices being made by the country today are a promissory note to a certain productive and prosperous future. Not many may share his conviction, but Ikpea says that if the federal government conscientiously implements his economic policies, there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
“If certain entities had enjoyed fuel subsidies for some time, the government could have put a stop to it to fix roads and the health care system and provide other essential services for the masses, but that did not happen,” Ikpea stresses.
“Right now,” the oil and gas guru notes, “we have a new administration in the saddle that decided that enough is enough and took a bold step to stop the fuel subsidy, promising to use the subsidy for infrastructure development and several other things for the benefit of the people.”
Ikpea mentions that “similar big mistakes were made in the past regarding the monetary reforms” and that “any damage done to a system or society usually takes time to fix,” urging his compatriots to allow for more time for the economic rot in the country to be fixed.
The Lee Engineering Company boss says, “My advice to Nigerians is to be patient. Personally, I feel the painful pinch of the reforms. It has to be endured with the hope and confidence that things will definitely return to normal. In the interim, we should all support the president and his administration. Normalcy will return sooner rather than later.
“No sacrifice is too small to make for one’s country. United States of America, Britain and other developed countries we have today, there were several sacrifices their citizens made to ensure the nations are where they are today. If we want Nigeria to be great and to become a developed nation, we must make some sacrifices.”
Besides oil and gas, Ikpea has keen eyes on aviation, and his company has continued to expand the frontiers of investment in the aviation industry.
“Our investment in aviation is yielding good results because we have positioned ourselves strategically despite some rising costs we have to incur. Our future goal is to add more aircraft to our fleet,” Ikpea tells THISDAY. “Therefore, we can look forward to providing job opportunities to Nigerians and offering air travellers better and more reliable flight options.”
On the subsidy removal, the business mogul emphasises the pain that must be endured to remove the elephant in the room and get the country going again. Ikpea admits there must be a tightening of the belt, albeit momentary.
“I think it’s a very hard decision. Everybody knows that. But if you look at it again, Nigerian oil is still one of the cheapest oil in the world. Yes, of course, people will suffer. But if we don’t suffer momentarily, how will enduring enjoyment come? It’s natural: work before enjoyment,” Ikpea reiterates. “Enjoyment will come.”
The Lee Engineering chief is convinced that the pleasure outweighs the present pains, calling on the rich and the poor to trust the process that promises prosperity, healthy competition in the oil and gas industry and other aspects of the economy. Ikpea notes that with the full deregulation of the petroleum industry, many players will be encouraged to participate in the market, driving up beneficial competition.
“We may suffer for now. Later on, the sun will shine again,” Ikpea insists.
Amid Nigeria’s economic conundrum, the Lee Group has kept its momentum.
“We have ongoing gas projects. Several of those projects will also increase revenue for the government. Those projects are ongoing,” Ikpea reveals. “We’re starting a new one, which will take about three years to complete. We signed that contract a couple of months ago.”
Notwithstanding the current exit of some IOCs, Ikpea said the ongoing construction of his multibillion-naira fabrication yard was a “foresight that was envisioned long ago, long before the federal government signed the local content development bill into law.”
“I saw the need for us to have this fabrication yard in place. I could imagine there might be times when it would be difficult to get foreign exchange. More important, the vision to create more job opportunties has always been there,” Ikpea adds. “Once this project becomes fully completed and the yard becomes operational, the multiplier effects will be massive.”
He reveals that the fabrication yard’s construction is nearing completion.
“With the progress made on the project, we are looking at its completion in the second quarter of the year to inaugurate the fabrication factory. Once that is done, we expect almost immediate patronage from the IOCs, other oil and gas industry players, and the government,” the businessman states. “One major impact is that it will allow the country to save a lot of foreign exchange.”
“The factory right now is the fabrication yard. The fabrication yard in Warri is currently undergoing a test run of all the equipment there. And between two and three months, the factory will be ready for inauguration,” adds Ikea. “We had informed the federal government, especially Mr President, to come and inaugurate this project. It’s a project that we will help to drive his dream through the oil and gas sector.”
Confidence in economic reforms
“I believe this current administration will surpass previous administrations’ achievements in this country. You can see some decisive decisions that have been taken so far. By the time Mr President’s cabinet is up and running, forming the Federal Executive Council, they will hit the ground running. I’m very optimistic,” the oil mogul notes.
While admitting that the new government has much ground to cover, he underscores the importance of removing the petrol subsidy, acknowledging its discomfitures but stressing its value and opportunities for national growth. Ikpea also highlights the courage of Tinubu in swiftly removing the fuel subsidy, stating that several past heads of state had failed to successfully remove the cancerous subsidy regime.
“I think I share that we have to start from somewhere. If the government had continued to put in billions of naira to sustain the subsidy regime, it would be very difficult for this country to survive economically: the debt servicing is there. Add the servicing of debts to paying for the subsidy, then what is left for the country to survive?” the Lee Engineering CEO reasons.
A technocrat, Ikpea clearly understands the role of governance and policies and demonstrates his optimism about the Tinubu administration. He provides a basis for that optimism.
“Apart from Mr President’s track record: any human being that is highly criticised, any human being that is highly criticised, and negatively spoken of that individual come what may, usually succeed. The motivation to prove his critics wrong is very high. Those negative criticisms trailing him will serve as a wind in his sail,” says Ikpea.
For him, the new administration is the “best government we would ever have.” Ikpea was quick to explain why.
“Yes, it will be one of the best governments we have ever had in Nigeria because the incoming administration has seen the mistakes in various sectors of past governments and the anger of Nigerians. I am sure the incoming government will put a smile on Nigerians’ faces,” the oil magnate states, pointing out that the president exudes the confidence of an astute politician and administrator.
When the federal government announced the unification of the foreign exchange market, it was greeted with mixed feelings. For the billionaire magnate Ikpea, floating the naira is in the best interest of Nigeria’s fiscal stability, admitting, “It will help. Initially, it will be very rough. So, let us also be patient with the government. Yes, they are making the right decision on the right move.”
The new government has unfinished business in the oil and gas industry, Ikpea says.
“But at the same time, the staff and the people in the industry are first-class personnel because they’re well-trained. I could tell because I have been in the industry for 47 years,” he emphasises. “I have been following them right from the beginning. Nobody can steal a kobo in NNPC because their procedures are very strict, with meticulous attention to due process. The NNPC has become a well-structured organisation. It remains one of the best parastatals this country could ever have.”
The Lee Engineering CEO has a simple suggestion to keep the wheel of oil running.
“I will suggest the incoming government should do one, over 5,000km pipeline in this country. These pipelines were laid in the late 1980s. Calculate the years: it’s more than 30 years. There must be corrosion. The same pipelines have remained. They have not been changed, resulting in oil loss and stealing because criminals exploit the corroded parts of the pipelines to siphon large-scale quantities of oil,” says Ikpea.
That leaves the government losing a lot of money. If the government could do the hard work, a lot could be saved for the nation’s coffers.
“It’s a lot of work to be done. If the government wants to avoid stealing, the pipelines have to be rejuvenated by fixing the badly damaged ones. They should create a good network of pipelines and bury them deeper into the ground. If the depth was three feet before, let them take it six feet down; that way, it becomes more difficult for potential oil thieves to unravel the pipelines and steal oil,” Ikpea notes.
He recommends high-powered surveillance that could nip criminal activities in the bud to make the hard work meaningful. He also believes careful consideration should be given to the pipelines and refineries, “along with that, there should be proper surveillance. They need to concentrate on the pipeline, and they need to concentrate on the refineries to ensure that the refineries are functional because if the refineries do not produce, we will continue to have problems.”
Ikpea’s focus remained on deepening the country’s success stories, facing the challenges and building bigger frontiers for national prosperity, stressing the matchless contributions of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to strengthening the hands of local players in the oil and gas industry.
He feels the NCDMB has a lot going for it and can only get better without undue interference and politicisation of the agency. Yet, Ikpea suggests the continued strengthening of the local content board for more successes to be recorded per indigenous capacity in the oil and gas sector.
“You know, if the government properly empower the local content board because they have limitations. More empowerment is needed in the local content board. They need competent people to run that department because that is the livewire of the unborn generation,” Ikpea explains. “If I am the government, the people who are there now will get another four years to put all their structures in place.”
He suggests that when “they put the necessary structures in place, anybody coming in will have a well-established structure and system to work with. The personnel at the local content board are very competent and committed, but they need to be empowered.”
Another measure the Lee Engineering founder urges the government to consider is consolidation.
“They should be given time to consolidate the structure being built by the board. The board is the future of Nigeria. It is the future of oil and gas. The local content board is training a lot of Nigerians. The skills capacity of Nigerians in the oil and gas sector has continued to increase,” Ikpea stresses. “The board is training a lot of Nigerians through Lee Engineering and other indigenous oil and gas firms.”
As a vibrant local player in a dynamic global industry, Lee Engineering has stepped up to the plate by acquiring marginal fields. By the time the company starts production, it will not need to import many resources into the country because it will use equipment manufactured in its fabrication plant, which is cost-effective. Ikpea will bring his 14 years of experience in the construction industry to bear.
His leading indigenous EPCOM (engineering, procurement, construction, operation, and maintenance) company, the Lee Engineering and Construction Company, has achieved several milestones and received numerous commendations, awards, and certificates from local and international organisations.
Ikpea also talks about the potential strides of Nigeria in the gas industry amid a challenging atmosphere that pervades Europe as Russia continues its violent aggression against Ukraine.