Ejiofor Alike
Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson has stated that ‎anyone who is opposed to the relocation of the international oil companies (IOCs) to the Niger Delta as directed by the federal government, is against the peace and stability of the region.
A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworison-Markson, quoted the governor to have said this at a special dinner organised by the state government as a major sideline event at the recent Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, United States.
According to the statement, the event, tagged: “Bayelsa/Oloibiri Roundtable,†drew an impressive audience of key industry stakeholders and captains of multinational companies in the oil and gas sector.
Dickson reiterated his determination to establish three modular refineries in each of the senatorial zones, adding that he had set up the Bayelsa Petrochemical and Refinery Company Limited for this purpose.
According to him, the board and management of the company will be constituted upon his return to the State from the United States.
The company, he added, will partner willing investors to ensure that work on the establishment of the modular refineries starts in earnest, stressing that the State would provide the necessary institutional backing, coupled with the enabling environment to ensure that the project is successful.
“Part of what we are doing as a government to further indicate our seriousness to would-be investors is to provide land for their investment and to fast track all titles and documents relating to the acquisition of the land complete with a signed C of O within a month. This is in addition to the Industrial Park for which we have acquired the land measuring over 213 hectares in size and as we speak clearing is going on and the dredging of the land will commence soon. We will provide 24 hours power to the industrial park and so investors should be rest assured of their power needs round the clock ,†Dickson explained.
“We have in the last five years invested massively in virtually all the critical sectors of our state economy, like in the area of security which many would readily attest has earned us numerous awards where the State is now rated as one of the safest in the region and indeed the country as whole. Our government’s huge investment in security, which is by deliberate and determined deployment of combination of legislation, policy, decisive and clear-headed leadership, has within a given space of time made the State one of the safest places to live and do business in the country”.
On his part, a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Timi Alaibe, lauded Dickson for his massive investment in education, especially in the award of scholarships and the provision of modern schools with compulsory boarding facilities across the State.
“We must put politics aside and commend Governor Dickson for providing leadership where it matters most. The education of our children is key and what the governor is doing will go a long way to help our educated youths to achieve economic success in the future,†he said.
SPDC’s Managing Director cum Country Chairman of all Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr.Osagie Okunbor said: “Bayelsa is the present and the future and we at SPDC will partner with the government of Bayelsa State to drive this process to bring about the desired development for the benefit of the people of the State”‎.
