By Infactng
The Niger Delta People’s Movement (NDPM) said Nigeria must move towards industrialization by diversifying the country’s economy from oil dependent to gas which is the only way the country can stay relevant in global industrial drive.
Spokesperson of the group, Mrs. Ibifuro Tatua in a statement on Monday praisedMinister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva for his commitment to developing the oil and gas sector and moving the country’s economy to gas economy.
The group which also comprise of prominent leaders of the Niger Delta region rose in a meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State calling for greater understanding among stakeholders in the country’s oil and gas sector and endorsed the current drive by the Federal Government to transit into a gas economy.
The Niger Delta leaders extolled the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, for providing the necessary driving force for the region’s economic development noting that the success of the regeneration of the country’s economy in which the present government is committed would depend to a great extent on the transition into a gas economy.
The group noted the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), has strategies to further harness the vast hydrocarbon deposit in the country, cheapness of renewable energy, products availability in all nooks and crannies of the region and strong collaboration among industry players.
While praising the Federal Government for establishing the 50 million litre Petroleum Product Terminal in Brass and putting its feet on research and development and issuing new marginal field awards, it noted that the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company, Oloibiri Oil and Gas Museum and the Oil and Gas Park in Ogbia as key projects of the current administration in the Niger Delta region.
The group also commended Sylva for the successful hosting of the 2021 Nigeria International Energy Summit, increasing indigenous participation in the oil sector, curbing illegal refining, closing infrastructure gap in the distribution of petroleum products and stabilizing products pricing in the country.
It also said these achievements have helped reduce youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region, liberalizing the market and creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.
