Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
Drilling rigs and other accessories worth over N8.5 trillion were shipped to Nigeria by Indian companies between 2008 and 2019 without adding to the GDP and the capacity of the counyry.
This revelation was made on Thursday by the National Coordinator of the Agro- Rural Water Supply Support Initiative (A-RUWASSI) Micheal Ale, during the media workshop to mark the 2019 World Water Day, organised by the Department of Rural Development of Ministry of Agriculture..
Ale lamented that the huge sum spent on importing drilling rigs was of benefit to another country, a development that has left many young Nigerians, whose capacities were initially built on bore hole drilling profession to turn to quick cash making ventures and other mean jobs.
He also said that while local drill fabricators were displaced, Indian companies got their tactics spot on by offering naïve Nigerians cheap and substandard services devoid of accurate and sustainable standard.
“After a while, the local borehole industry in Nigeria began to die and many of our big operators got their business liquidated. Almost 95 percent of local drilling business failed and its multiplier effect is that capacity that has been built in this business line are left behind, while such opportunities were created more for India country,” Ale said.
