By Abdullahi Yusuf
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has appealed to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the resumption of drilling activities at the Ebenyi-A oil field in Obi Local Government Area, which has over a billion barrels reserve.
Sule made the appeal during a stakeholders meeting with President Tinubu who was on a one-day working visit to the state, which held at the Government House, Lafiya.
According to the Governor, Nigeria has the opportunity to be like Saudi Arabia with deep onshore oil operations with integrated oil and gas facilities.
He particularly made case for Tinubu to intervene and to ensure that oil drilling resumes in Obi.
“So far, in 2023, there was an exploration well that was going on in Obi LGA. There has been a discovery of hydrocarbons in excess of one billion barrels in that site.
“We are asking you, Your Excellency, to ensure that they come back and drill the next exploration well, the appraisal well so that we can start producing oil from that site.
“We are telling you this is best for the country. This is inland. We will be another Saudi Arabia if we have a deep onshore operation so that we can have an integrated oil and gas facility, similar to what they have in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Sule emphasized that such arrangement would enable the country to explore, produce and refine petroluem products at a given location.
“So that we can do exploration, production, refining, as well as gas production, power production, and be able to truck finished products to other parts of the country.
Your Excellency, we believe you can do that. We are asking you to please go ahead and do that for us,” he said.
Commenting on the projects executed by his administration and commissioned by the President, the governor attributed his successes to the Renewed Hope Agenda and the economic policies of the federal government under Tinubu.
He described the formal commissioning of the 16bn Lafia flyover and underpass, the N5.6bn Shendam Road dualization, and the multi-billion naira State Secretariat complex, as a watershed in the history of the state.
The governor commended the President’s leadership, particularly his policies on the removal of oil subsidy and foreign exchange, which have become the catalyst for national development.
“Your renewed hope and economic reforms, especially regarding the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange, are most of the things that we are seeing and today, we have seen the result of that. I have invited most of my friends who always say, the money for this subsidy, where is it going? I said come to Nasarawa you will see where the money is going,” he added.
The Governor further appreciated the President for his continued support in the area of human capital development, having earlier dispatched Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima to attend two functions relating to human capital development in the state.
He also thanked President Tinubu for identifying some sons and daughters of the state and finding them worthy of appointing them to work with him to support his administration to deliver on the renewed hope agenda.
“Thank you for the support for human capital development. You have sent the VP twice to come and witness this. The reason why we continue to promote vocational and technical education in Nasarawa State is because, when I was working for Dangote Group, we wanted to build the refinery, when the time comes to start installing most of the heavy equipment, we had to go to India to bring in over 4000 technicians into Nigeria.
“I said when I became the Governor, I said we are going to set up this facility so that next time when Dangote or any other person is going that they should come to Nasarawa not India. I want to thank you sincerely for finding some of our sons and daughters worthy of appointment into your government,” he added.
While also appreciating the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Henry Dele Alake, for ensuring that investors in solid minerals come to Nasarawa State to invest, Governor Sule announced that in another two months, one of the largest lithium mining and processing plants would again be commissioned in Endo, Nasarawa Local Government Area.
Speaking at the event, President Tinubu commended Governor Sule for effectively and efficiently gearing into his administration’s renewed hope agenda and for delivery critical infrastructural development.
“We have turned the corner of deperation, of uncertainty. We have passed the waste. I won’t go much on the economic dynamism that we are facing. But the hope is there. From this moment down, you will have no regrets.
“I could see hard work coming from A. A. Sule, he is determined to use the resources available to him for the benefits, stability, and prosperity of Nasarawa State. Sule is doing well. Because Bola Tinubu is doing well, too!,” he stated.
Tinubu spoke on the efforts of his administration to revamp agriculture in the country, assuring youth and women that the federal government will make agriculture profitable and rewarding through easy access to loans and inputs.
“I could see the fertile land. I could see the mechanization efforts of the Governor. I could see equipment rolling. I could see the rice and milling and many other things. Yes, we will work with you to ensure value is added to your mineral deposits. But don’t because you are a solid minerals state forget your agriculture. We are going to make agriculture profitable, and interesting for all of you the youths, the women. We will empower you through a small self financing loan,” he added.
The President used the opportunity to call on the stakeholders not to pay heed to those forming a coalition against his administration, describing them as political IDPs.
This is just as the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Henry Dele Alake announced that his ministry has facilitated another deal worth 400m United States dollars for the establishment of the largest rare earth minerals plant in Africa to be sited in Nasarawa State.
Alake, in his goodwill message during the meeting with stakeholders, said the local value addition policy of the Tinubu administration is transforming the solid minerals sector, with Nasarawa State being the centrepiece of solid minerals in the country.
“Currently, because of the positive effect of this local value addition policy, in Nasarawa State alone, we have attracted over USD800m in direct foreign investment in the sector. Only two days ago, I sealed another historic deal of a USD400m rare earth minerals and critical metals plant, which is the largest in Africa to be sited in Nasarawa.
“This Africa’s largest rare earth minerals is going to be cited in Nasarawa State and is going to generate at completion over 10, 000 jobs. We have asked them to put their separation centres in other geopolitical zones of the country so that all parts of Nigeria will benefit from this landmark achievement,” he said.
President Tinubu was accompanied on the visit by seven state governors, three deputy governors, national assembly members, including Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, ministers, top business leaders, to include amongst others, the Chairman of the Nigeria’s Governor’s Forum, Abdulraham Abdulraraq of Kwara, Chairman, Progressive Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodinma of Imo state, Professor Babagana Zulum of Borno, and Uba Sani of Kaduna.
Others are Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger, Prince Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, as well as Hycianth Allia of Benue. The deputy governors of Gombe, Sokoto and Kebbi were also in attendance.
Also present at the event are the National Chairman of the ruling APC, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as well as two former governors of Nasarawa State, Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Umaru Tanko Al-makura.