The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, says that Federal
Government has made provision of N1 billion in the 2017 budget for the
development of Ibaka deep seaport in Akwa Ibom.
Mr. Osinbajo said this in Uyo on Thursday while addressing
a Townhall meeting of the government and people of the state.
The acting president’s visit was part of his consultation
with people in the Niger Delta on how to maximise the gains of oil resources in
the region.
The acting president, who was responding to myriads of
complaints and requests by the people, said that budgetary provisions had also
been made for the Itu–Calabar federal highway in 2016.
Mr. Osinbajo said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was
working with Amnesty Office to accommodate more youth from Akwa Ibom into the
Amnesty Programme.
“I have heard all the requests. We must trust and give
this government the patience that is required to put things right.
“We are working on modular refineries. Power stations must
be established here. We must make our oil producing communities hub of
petrochemical and gas industries.
“We must attract private investments. The biggest benefit
is to attract more private investments to the state,” Mr. Osinbajo advised.
The acting president regretted that the blessings of oil
wealth had not touched the majority of the people in the oil bearing
communities.
He said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was working on
several incentives for the oil producing communities.
Mr. Osinbajo also directed the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources to liaise with the oil multinationals operating in the state on the
modalities to relocate their headquarters following repeated requests.
The acting president promised to partner with the state
government to establish technology hub in the state while advising the people
to be resourceful and innovative.
He noted that the future depended on innovation and the
ability to harness what we have for development.
In his presentation earlier, the state governor, Udom
Emmanuel, appealed to the Federal Government to support the Ibaka deep seaport.
The governor also requested the Federal Government to
partner with the state to establish a logistics centre for oil and gas
operations.
Mr. Emmanuel appealed to the Federal Government to resolve
the ownership problem in the Aluminum Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) to
enable the state benefit from it.
The governor, who described the acting president as a
development partner and leader, appealed to the Federal Government to allocate
oil and gas block to indigenes of the state.
Speaking on behalf of oil producing communities, a former
Minister of Lands and Housing, Nduese Essien, lamented that the state had
nothing to show for being the highest oil producer.
Mr. Essien suggested that the coastal railway project of
the Federal Government should pass through Oron-Eket-Ikot Abasi routes.
He called on the Federal Government to correct the anomaly
in the section four of the East-West spanning Onna and Eket in Akwa Ibom.
In his presentation, the state leader, Pan Niger Delta
Forum, Idongesit Nkanga, urged the federal government to partner with the state
government to complete the hangar at the Akwa Ibom Airport.
Mr. Nkanga called for the speedy completion of the
East-West road cutting across the state and also expedite the transformation of
Maritime Academy into a university.
In his speech, the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill
Akpabio, commended the federal government for appointing indigenes of the state
into key government positions.
Mr. Akpabio, who spoke on behalf of the state’s elders
council, asked for fairness and equity considering the allocation of projects
in the Niger Delta region.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
representatives of youth, women and special interest groups spoke at the town
hall meeting.
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