…Kachikwu says: We’re expecting $40bn oil investments in five years***
The Arewa Consultative Forum has rejected the proposal for the creation of state police, saying the privilege will be abused.
The ACF’s position has, however, drawn heated reactions from organisations, including Middle Belt groups, pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere; and Civil Liberties Organisation.
The All Progressives Congress’ restructuring committee, led by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, had recommended state police, among other suggestions.
Also the Nigeria Governors’ Forum last week supported Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who called for the creation of state police at a security summit organised by the Senate.
But the ACF, faulting the call for state police, noted that the creation of state police would lead to chaos.
The ACF’s Secretary General, Mr. Anthony Sani, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Kaduna, said if created, the various state governors would abuse state police the way the state electoral commissions were being abused.
According to the ACF, governors will use state police to torment the opposition.
“Given the experiences where state governments use the state electoral commissions to kill democracy at the local government level – where no opposition party wins a seat in the local government council – there is the high possibility of state governments abusing state police with dire consequences, especially in states with many ethnic groups and religions,” the ACF’s secretary said.
The ACF, he added, was opposed to state police because it believed that the problems of the police were lack of training and lack of equipment, as well as insufficient personnel.
He also said given the paucity of resources, it would not be a good judgment to saddle states with additional responsibilities of state police.
He said the northern body believed that the problems that led to the calls for state police could not be solved by the multiplication of security agencies.
Sani said that the northern group was of the view that the Nigeria Police Force would perform better if given adequate training, equipment and manpower.
The ACF secretary said, “We prefer that police personnel be properly trained and adequately equipped, while their number should be increased rather that the introduction of state police.”
However, the Middle Belt Youth Council President, Emma Zopmal, faulted the ACF position, saying the position of the northern group was borne out of fear.
He said, “They are not experts in security and defence. State policing is the only way of guaranteeing safety of lives and property of citizens. Regional police effectively worked in the First Republic; there’s no doubt that it will work at the state level today.
“With the incessant infiltration of Nigeria’s territorial space by Fulani herdsmen, the federal police can no longer protect some states and citizens from the marauding killer herdsmen. We are aware that Nigerian government says that the Fulani herdsmen are foreigners.
“I do not believe that state governors will abuse state police. Even if they do so, they would have copied it from the present Federal Government, which also abuses police power.”
In the meantime, Nigeria would be expecting about $40bn worth of oil investments in the next five years, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, announced on Monday.
He also stated that the country’s refineries were currently producing at 14 per cent capacity, stressing that oil firms operating in the nation would not be allowed to ship out all the crude they produce without refining some locally in the near future.
Kachikwu, who spoke at the ongoing Nigerian International Petroleum Summit, further stated that the funding capacity for the upstream oil sector had been changed in the past two years.
The minister said, “There are major plans; everywhere you look, there are opportunities in the oil sector. What have we achieved since the launch of the 7Big Wins two years ago? We have been able to, through a lot of struggle, change the funding capacity for the upstream and that had sort of energised investors in the upstream sector.
“Now, we are beginning to see projects like Egina, worth $15bn; Zabazaba, $10bn; Bonga, $10bn, and the likes. So many other investments, put at over $40bn potential investments over the next five years if we do the right thing, set the right models and set the right policies. That is very key and that is coming from a country where investments had run away for nearly seven to 10 years.”
On refineries, he stated that the government would announce a model for target investments in the facilities within the next one month.
Kachikwu said, “We have addressed refineries; for the first time, we are creating a model where target investments are going into the dilapidated refineries. Some of them will be announced over the next one month. We are still targeting to be able to get these refineries up and running from about 14 per cent utilisation capacity today, to about 90 to 95 per cent over the next 18 to 20 months.
“If we do that, hopefully, we will begin to move drastically to self-sufficiency in the production of refined petroleum products.”
The minister told delegates at the gathering that multinational oil firms would not be allowed to export all the crude they produce in Nigeria, as emphasis would shift to local refining of substantial portion of the crude produce in the country.
He said, “We will get to a point where Nigeria, definitely, will be a major supplier of refined petroleum products. It has to happen. We are also saying directly to oil companies that a time will also come when we will not be open to see them move around all the crude oil they produce in Nigeria.
“We will like to see integrated refining and integrated processing here. It gives us more jobs and creates more investments.”
Kachikwu, however, declared that Nigeria and other oil producers must strive to produce cheap oil in order to avoid losing out in the sector globally.
“The reality is that today, if you cannot produce cheap cost oil, if you cannot diversify the processing of your oil, if you cannot look to internalising and externalising investments in the sector, if you cannot capture the requisite technological skills that are essential to help you operate efficiently, you are lost before you start,” the minister stated.
Punch
