…Suspected sea pirates, cultists kill two, injure policeman in Bayelsa***
The Technical Consultant on Refinery to Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr Babajide Soyode has disclosed that the Dangote Refinery, Petrochemical and Fertilizer projects would solve half of Nigeria’s crude oil refining and exporting challenges when completed. It would however not be completed until 2019.
Soyode indicated this on Thursday in Lagos, noting that the 16-billion-dollar investment would ensure availability of products in the downstream sector.
He said the 650,000 barrels per day refining capacity of the Dangote Refinery, when completed, would significantly boost the economy of Lagos and Nigeria in general, adding that the projects would have great multiplier effect on the nation’s economy.
According to him, the good news is that the refinery alone, when completed, can supply 95 per cent of local daily consumption of petroleum products, adding that “Nigeria is likely to be an exporter of petroleum products in
2019”.
“Indeed, come 2019, the thick cloud of national shame will be lifted and the economic reality will crush the `Walls of Jericho” of politics and sentiments in the oil and gas industry that perpetuate a circle of poverty.
“Our target is that in the next few years from now, we hope and we believe that half of Nigeria’s crude will be refined and exported rather than just exporting crude to create jobs elsewhere.”
Soyode said that the Dangote Refinery, Petrochemicals and Fertilizers, reputed to be the biggest in Africa when completed, offered hope in the quest for diversification of Nigeria’s economy from total dependence on oil to other areas like agriculture and solid minerals.
He added that government at all levels had expressed amazement at the size of the project and had reiterated their preparedness to provide enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
He urged government to harness the potential of the private sector to make the nation’s economy recover speedily.
The technical consultant said investment in fertilizer was one sure way the diversification into agriculture could succeed “because it will amount to little if focus is directed to agriculture and fertilizers are being imported.
“If agriculture is the way to go, a critical component of that sector is fertilizer. Nigeria has more arable land than China, which now is the biggest economy in the world, we can tap into our vast land and produce what we need and even export.
“When we complete the Dangote Refinery, Petrochemical and Fertilizer,
there will be opportunities to take on agriculture and say bye to poverty because more jobs will be created.”
Soyode said that the project was an ambitious one and would give Nigeria a new economic direction in the quest for diversification, as excess products would be exported to earn the country the much needed foreign exchange.
In the meantime, suspected sea pirates and cultists have killed two persons in the Akassa-Yenagoa waterways and Ekeki in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
The armed cultists, numbering over 30, had stormed the Ekeki area of Yenagoa at about 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday shooting at residents and robbing them of their cash and other valuables.
The marauders caused confusion and pandemonium in the area as persons on the streets fled to different directions for safety.
A victim, 30-year-old son of an Ekeki village chief, identified as Ifiemie, was reportedly shot and was rushed to the hospital where he died few hours later.
Also, an unidentified policeman in mufti, who was said to be coming out from a barbing saloon in the area, was shot by the hoodlums.
The policeman, who hails from Ndoni in Rivers State, was reportedly shot while trying to stop the cultists from collecting his mobile phone and cash.
He was said to have been rushed to an undisclosed hospital where sources said he was responding to treatment.
On the sea pirate attack, a victim, identified as Asuku, a former Chairman of the Maritime Workers’ Union (MWU), Akassa Unit, was said to have died in the incident.
The victim was said to have been travelling along the waterways from Akassa to Yenagoa when their boat came under attack.
Sources said the sea robbers attacked the boat along Okobotuo at Lagos camp at about 6.30 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Asinim Butswat, confirmed the killing and activities of cultists but said he had yet to be briefed on the sea pirate incident.
“The boy was killed as a result of a cult clash. Our earlier investigations linked the dead victim to one of the cult groups.
“The policeman was coming out of a barbing saloon when the hoodlums were passing. They dispossessed him of his phone because he was off duty. He tried to resist them but they shot him. But he is responding to treatment,” he said.
Additional report from Guardian NG
