By Amaechi Okwara
Asaba
Delta state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday supported the reforms being carried out by the federal government in the oil sector.
He stated this when the management of Warri Refinery and Petro-Chemical Company (WRPC) led by the company’s Chief Operating Officer (Refineries), Mr. Anibor Kragha, paid him a courtesy visit in Asaba, the state capital.
Okowa said though the reforms would cause immediate pains for Nigerians, the long-term benefits “cannot be quantified.”
He said: “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 sympathise 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, 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.”
However, he 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.
“An advocacy committee led by the Deputy Governor is currently on sensitisation visit to oil-bearing communities for the people to protect the pipelines 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, saying that though the state government had provided a park for the tankers, it had been observed that it could only accommodate about 20 per cent of them.
