American billionaire investor Stephen Schwarzman held a closed-door meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.
According to Nigerian television station Channels TV, Schwarzman, who is the founder of American private equity firm Blackstone Group, was accompanied to the meeting by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, and Muhammadu Sanusi II, a former Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank who is now the Emir of Kano, a highly revered traditional royal position.
The meeting lasted for about an hour. Though details of the meeting were not made known to journalists, it is believed that the discussions centered on opportunities for new investments in power generation and infrastructure in Nigeria.
In August last year, Black Rhino Group, an infrastructure development firm that is a portfolio company of Blackstone Group, partnered with Dangote Industries, owned by Aliko Dangote, to invest $5 billion over the next 5 years in energy infrastructure projects across Africa, with a focus on power, transmission and pipeline projects. Muhammadu Sanusi II is the chairman of Black Rhino Group.
Prior to meeting with President Buhari, Dangote and Schwarzman met with Nigeria’s Senate President Bukola Saraki, during which, according to Channels TV, the men stated their commitment to investing in strategic sectors in Nigeria’s economy. Saraki promised Schwarzman, Dangote and Sanusi the Senate’s commitment to enacting appropriate legislation to create an attractive business environment in Nigeria.
“As far as we are concerned, the Senate will give support in any way we can to make legislation that will make investing in Nigeria conducive,” Saraki said on Channels TV.
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