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By David Owei, Yenagoa
Two aides of the governor of Bayelsa State, Tamunoye Zifere Alazigha, MD/CEO Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation and special adviser to the governor on Investment, and Timipere Seupoloum, special adviser to the governor on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue, have commended the executive secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Simbi Wabote, for the choice of Bayelsa State as the host of the Nigeria Oil Gas opportunities Fair (NOGOF 2019).
They said it was not only an opportunity for stakeholders to get acquainted with the untapped and enormous opportunities available to local operators, but also a boost to the state’s economy during the two-day event, especially with its multiplier effect.
Alazigha and Seupolou also eulogized Governor Seriake Dickson for ensuring an enabling environment for the 17-story edifice to be completed during his tenure.
The commissioners, in separate interviews, agreed that the event which hitherto was held outside Bayelsa State had caused a lot of capital flight and had denied the state of maximizing its importance as the first state where oil was discovered – at Oloibiri in Ogbia Local Government Area in 1956 and exported in commercial quantity in 1957, which deserved the hosting right of any oil and gas event of this magnitude.
They noted that the 17-storey building, when completed will provide office accommodations for IOCs that had been involved in the exploitation and exploration of oil and gas for decades in the Niger Delta region, which activity has had concomitant adverse and militating impact on the environment and source of livelihood of the host communities.
According to Hon Seupolou, “the oil industry has always been considered as opaque and for the fact that eminent persons and experts were invited to Yenagoa to brainstorm on how our indigenous contractors can get involved in the oil and gas sector which had been dominated by foreigners was not only apt but auspicious and timely too. The oil industry is opaque and majority does not know the investment opportunities therein and for the singular fact that event took place in Bayelsa State, many stakeholders stand to benefit from the oil and gas sector which before now were unknown due to their lack of professionalism and information.”
He said the event was an eye opener to investors and commended the organizers for exposing Bayelsans and other Niger Deltans to the numerous oil potentials the region is blessed with.
“In fact, it will afford local investors the opportunity to tap into the oil and gas sector which has been the exclusive of the foreigners and a few opportune Nigerians,” he said.
According to Hon Tamunoye Alazigha, SA to the governor on Investments, the tone to host more of oil and gas conferences has been set by the NCDMB, for the construction of the magnificent 17-storey building upon completion would accommodate most of the IOCs which despite agitations and clamour by Niger Deltans for them to relocate their offices to the region had been brazenly and flagrantly disobeyed and had been a source of conflict between the IOCs and their host communities. Besides, the Castle Hotel is there to give visitors a royal experience.
He described the event as historic and a huge success. “Every well-meaning Bayelsan gave kudos to it for the first time in history this event was hosted by Bayelsa State and if you listen to the governor in his remarks it goes to show and prove that state government and stakeholders would continue to insist that the event should not be taken from Bayelsa State in future.”
He said the state now has international hotels that accommodate participants and once the international airport is commissioned for use most of the stress participants had by landing at Port Harcourt International Airport would be averted and these contribute to improve the state internally generated revenue (IGR)
His words: “As a state we are very happy to be participants and witnessed this auspicious event at the 17-storey building first of its kind in the whole of the South – South and benefits will trickle down not only to Bayelsa State, but the entire region that have been marginalized and suffered deprivation by successive federal governments despite our contribution to the economic mainstay of the country.”
Commenting on the maiden oil and gas conference held in Akwa Ibom State, he said the fact that the event had now been moved to the cradle of oil and gas production was a welcome development and a plus to Bayelsa State considering a lot of benefit the headquarters of NCDMB will attract to the state by way of job creation and reduction of tension and other concomitant problems of the region such as kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, oil theft and other social vices preponderant in the Niger Delta region.
“It means that Bayelsa is recognized as oil capital of Nigeria. This is where we will discuss opportunities in the oil sector to get empowered and enable local content, local companies to participate as Nigeria has the opportunities like Antiga which has achieved 100 percent local content according to her ambassador. This year’s event was informative and beneficial to the organizers and investors.”
He said the hosting of NOGOF by Bayelsa State is a game changer, as the event is an equivalent of OTC that Nigerians attend yearly in Houston, noting that this finds credence in the words of the minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, who pointed out that the solutions to sector issues can be found here in Nigeria.
Bayelsa State is a natural access point for international trade for the whole of West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea, providing excellent access to the Atlantic Ocean from a number of locations including Brass, Akassa, Oporoma and Agge, which has a natural deep sea port of significant depth. It also has a coastline of over 237km, which is the longest in Nigeria.
Bayelsa state is a sub-national powerhouse and in addition to the state’s strategic coastal location, the state is greatly endowed with vast reserves of oil and gas and other non-renewable mining resources including salt, granite, barites, marble, clay, fine sand, gypsum, phosphate rocks, feldspar, limestone sand and gravel. The state also boasts of vast agricultural resources, extensive hectares of arable land, abundant labour and untapped industrial potentials. All of these give Bayelsa State comparative advantage in several industrial sectors including power generation, oil and gas industrial activities, petro-chemicals, refineries, Agro-allied processing activities and light manufacturing. This comparative advantages are further enhanced by the state‘s industrial park, power hub, airport and heliport projects.
This year’s event, with the theme: ‘Maximizing Investments in the oil and Gas industry for the benefits of Nigerian people,’ had 38 sponsors, 9 media partners, 55 exhibitors, over 70 speakers, 15 planning committee members and over 20 vendors in attendance.