FG Tags Anambra, Oil Producing State …As Jonathan Unveils N4bn Onitsha Port

Wife of former Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr Christie Toby (left) presenting an award by the Home Economic Teachers Association of Nigeria (HETAN) to the Vice Chancellor, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Prof Rosemond Dienye Green-Osahogulu for her outstanding contribution to human development and social change during the 41st national conference of the body in Port Harcourt, recently.

The Federal Government has designated Anambra as an
oil-bearing state in the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan made the pronouncement yesterday
while inaugurating Orient Petroleum Resources Plc at Aguleri-Otu in the Anambra
East Local Government Area of the state.

Jonathan said the Federal Government was committed to oil
exploration in all the country’s sedimentary basins, commending Orient
Petroleum for pioneering inland crude oil production in the country.

“The good news is not for Orient Oil and Anambra Basin
alone, the good news is for all the sedimentary basins all over the country,”
the president said.

He said that the pioneering efforts of Orient Petroleum in
Anambra would give confidence to other investors to invest in other inland
sedimentary basins in the country.

Jonathan charged workers in the oil industry, especially
those at the upstream sector, to add value to the crude oil they produce and
export refined products.

“We have a lot of gas resources in Anambra Basin from
meteorological records. Orient Petroleum has helped us not just in producing
the crude oil, but adding value to it.

“As a nation, we should not be exporting crude oil alone.
The vision of Orient to diversify into refining and power generation, among
others, is the way to go.

“People who refine crude oil make more money than those who
export the crude commodity,” he said.

The president commended the management of the company and
other private investors for the innovation they had brought into the oil
sector.

He said that the transformation agenda of his administration
would not be pioneered by government alone, adding that the private sector also
had a role to play to transform the nation.

Jonathan pledged that the Federal Government would continue
to work with the private sector to maximise the nation’s resources.

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra, who thanked the president for
inaugurating Orient Petroleum, promised that his administration would partner
with the company to develop the oil sector in the state.

Chairman of Orient Petroleum Resources, Chief Emeka Anyaoku,
said the company would commence refining crude next year.

Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, said that
when the company’s refining facility is completed, about 20,000 litres of crude
would be refined daily.

He disclosed that three state governments, Anambra, Kogi and
Rivers were shareholders in the company, adding that the 21 Local Government
Areas in Anambra were also shareholders in the company.

Anyaoku said the company was making efforts to utilise its
gas to avoid flaring, expressing hope that utilisation of the company’s gas
resources would impact positively on electricity supply in the country.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the
company, Mr Nnaemeka Nwawka, appealed to the Federal Government and Nigerian
banks to provide incentives and intervention funds for private refineries.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated
the Onitsha Inland Water Port in Anambra State. Jonathan said at the event that
the port would further boost economic activities in the country. According to
him, there is the need to open up the country’s waterways to make trade and
commerce easier as well as reduce the workload on the road network.

He reiterated his administration’s plan to give some fillip
to rail and water transport, and urged the private sector to collaborate with
the government.

to create jobs.
Jonathan lauded the government and people of Anambra for completing the port.

The president pledged that his administration would not
relent in its effort to deliver on its campaign promises. He praised the
prevailing peace in the South East, describing it as second to none in the
country.

The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said that the
port, which cost N4.6 billion, was one of the numerous ports the Federal
Government was building. Umar said that three inland water ports in Baro,
Niger, Oguta, Imo, and Yamata, Kogi, would soon be completed and inaugurated.

He thanked the President and the Anambra Governor, Peter
Obi, for supporting his ministry in developing water transport. The Senate
President, David Mark, promised to work harmoniously with the executive arm of
government to develop the nation’s economy.

Mark, who was represented by Sen. Zainab Kure, urged synergy
among the ministries to ensure quality budgeting, adding that the government
would soon set up a board on deep sea water. Mark hoped that the Baro Port
would be inaugurated in the next 12 months.

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, who described Onitsha
as the biggest commercial city in Africa, said that the inauguration of the
port would make the movement of goods more efficient.