The Governor
of Delta State, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has thrown his weight behind the
reforms being carried out by the Federal Government in the oil sector.
Speaking
when he received the management of Warri Refinery and Petro-Chemical Company
(WRPC) led by the company’s Chief Operating Officer (Refineries), Mr. Anibor
Kragha in Asaba, the Governor observed that though, the
reforms would cause immediate pains for Nigerians, the long-term benefits
cannot be quantified.
According
to him, “if the refineries succeed, Nigeria succeeds and different states
succeed because the importation of fuel has impacted negatively on the revenue
of government; all the state governments are in support of the liberalisation
of down-stream oil sector of the economy because, we are caught in the web as
the price of oil is very low and there are no foreign exchange to continue to
import fuel.”
“I
sympathize with all Nigerians, we did not anticipate this situation, I believe
the Federal Government will find ways to cushion the effects of the
liberalisation but, above all, there are lessons to be learnt from the
situation; we need to diversify our economy as quickly as possible,” he stated,
adding, “the restructuring of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
and the liberalisation of the down-stream oil sector if followed through
thoroughly will impact positively on the economy and create jobs for the
citizenry.”
Governor
Okowa used the occasion to decry activities of pipeline vandals, observing that
while such had negative effect on the environment and the resources of the
country, activities of economic saboteurs have affected negatively the oil
production.
He
said, “an advocacy committee led by the Deputy Governor is currently on
sensitization visit to oil-bearing communities for the people to protect the
piplelines and government property in their areas.”
The
Governor called for partnership between his administration and WRPC to tackle
the menace of tankers on the roads, disclosing that though, the state
government has provided a park for the tankers, it has been observed that it
could only accommodate about 20 per cent of the tankers which has given room
for a bigger park to be constructed.
Earlier,
Mr Kragha thanked Governor Okowa’s administration for its commitment towards
providing the enabling environment for business to thrive in the State.
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