Adewale Sanyaolu
Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to fast- track the implementation of the $3.5 billion Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and refinery projects.
The governor also called on the president to urgently address all bottlenecks militating against the commencement of work on the Brass LNG and the refinery projects.
The governor who spoke during a stakeholders’ meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Yenagoa, said the call has become imperative in view of what he described as unacceptable lack of federal projects in the state.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Francis Ottah-Agbo, quoted the governor as saying that the take-off and eventual utilisation of the two projects would not only give the Ijaw people a sense of belonging but also expand the revenue base of the country.
He decried the backwardness of the Ijaw ethnic nationality in terms of development and urged the Federal Government as well as multinational corporations to partner the state government in tackling the yawning infrastructural deficit in the area.
According to him, his administration has been working so hard with lean resources to single-handedly fund development projects such as construction of major roads and bridges, schools and health institutions.
Recall that the House of Representatives, had two weeks ago, resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to probe the implementation of $22 billion Brass LNG project alleged to have been poorly managed.
The special panel is expected to investigate the expenditure and implementation of the $22 billion gas project and report back in six weeks for further legislative input.
This development was sequel to a motion promoted by Kingsley Ogundu Chinda, (PDP, Obio Akpor Federal Constituency, Rivers State) entitled: “Urgent Need To Investigate the Implementation of the $22 billion Brass Liquefied Gas Project.”
Leading the debate, Chinda said, among others, “there have been several allegations of abuse and mismanagement of funds totalling about $22 bilion meant for take-off and running of the Brass project. “The Brass LNG project was originally set up in 2003 with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owning 49 per cent and other affiliates, namely, Conoco Phillips, ENI and Chevron, holding 17 per cent.