Unbelievable! PDP Governor, Okowa supports Buhari’s oil sector reforms

– President Muhammadu Buhari received support for what his administration is doing in the oil sector by one of the governors of the South-south state

– Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta state believes the oil sector reforms is in the best interest of the growth and development of the petroleum industry

– The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor pushed aside party differences to pitch his tent with the federal government’s oil sector reform policy

Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta State state governor has thrown his weight behind the oil sector reforms, being carried out by the Federal Government in the oil industry.

Speaking while he received the management of Warri Refinery and Petro-Chemical Company (WRPC), led by the company’s chief operating officer (Refineries), Mr Anibor Kragha on Tuesday, May 17 in Asaba, the Delta state governor observed that though, the reforms would cause immediate pains for Nigerians, the long-term benefits cannot be quantified.

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According to him, “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 the 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, adding that “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.”

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Governor Okowa used the occasion to decry the activities of the pipeline vandals, observing that while such had negative effect on the environment and the resources of the country, activities of economic saboteurs have negatively affected oil production.

He stated: “An advocacy committee led by the deputy governor is currently on a sensitisation visit to oil-bearing communities for the people to protect the pipelines and government properties in their areas.”

The governor called for partnership between his administration and WRPC to tackle the menace of tankers on the roads, disclosing that though, the state government has provided a park for the tankers, it has been observed it could only accommodate about 20% of the tankers which has given room for a bigger park to be constructed.

Earlier, Mr Kragha thanked Governor Okowa’s administration for its commitment towards providing the enabling environment for business to thrive in the state.

In a similar show of solidarity for President Buhari, regarding fine-tuning the oil sector; on Tuesday, May 17, one Abubakar Balarabe who calls himself the true patriotic Nigerian wrote a letter to show his unalloyed support for the action of the fuel subsidy removal announced on Thursday, May 12 by the federal government.

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