Lagos
State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday declared that Lagos has
officially joined the League of Oil Producing States in Nigeria following the
discovery of crude oil by Tunde Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited inm Badagry,
Lagos Governor Ambode who made the declaration when the management of the
company led bythe Group Managing Director, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo paid him a
courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja, commended the firm for their
doggedness to achieve the feat after 25 years of hard work, saying that by the
provision of Section 162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigeria Constitution, Lagos
has become an oil producing State. He declared, “I want to thank you very much
for this and I say it with all conviction because I know that based on section
162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigeria Constitution, Lagos becomes an oil producing
state and by virtue of this, the 13 percent derivation that is due to oil
producing states, Lagos will start to partake from it by your very good
gesture. So we officiallydeclare Lagos State as an oil producing state, we also
notify the Federal Government by this action that we would be sharing out of
the 13percent derivation. So all we need do is to apply and then we join.”
Governor Ambode also said that the feat has not only placed Lagos in the
history books as the first state outside the Niger Delta to become an oil
producing State, but has also opened up a new page for revenue generation in
the State. “It also means that by the additional revenue that is coming from
this action, we would have more resources to provide infrastructure for
Lagosians and this is what we want other investors and businessmen to emulate,
so that beyond the issue of profit, you are actually creating impact on people
without them necessarily knowing that it is actually comingfrom a venture like
this that you have embarked on,” he said.
He said the resilience of the Tunde
Folawiyo Petroleum Company, an indigenous firm has shown the possibilities and
opportunities for investors and businessmen willing to commit their resources
to boost local production.“I want to commend what you have done, it’s a sign
that you believe so much in Lagos State. I want to congratulate you, I want to
showcase you as a very good example of a dogged entrepreneur, as someone who
believes in
Nigeria because that’s what you epitomize here.
“The Federal Government has always said thatwe all need to look back inwards
and start to do things for ourselves. Spending 25 years to be able to get to
this stage and get something productive shows a lot about your belief, tenacity
and doggedness and I want to recommend you to every other Nigerian investor that
there is still greater hope for Nigeria and with the likes of you, I don’t see
any reason why any Nigerian needs to be afraid because you have just shown by
this indigenous discovery that anything is possible in Nigeria.
“This discovery is by a 100 per cent indigenous firm and at times like this
when we are experiencing dwindling revenue from different areas of our economy;
at times like this when
foreign exchange is highly turbulent, it gives one great hope that the future
prosperity of
Nigeria is assured and is secured by transactions like this,” Governor Ambode
said.Governor Ambode said that what the historic discovery means for Lagos is
that the three Senatorial Districts, Lagos West, Lagos East and Lagos Central
have all combined to open up the economic and investment potentials of the State.
“I will like to let you know that that we have three senatorial zones in Lagos;
from the Lagos
West axis, we have crude oil coming out of it, from the Lagos East axis, we
have the
petrochemical refinery factory coming
from the Lagos Free Trade Zone by the Dangote Group
which will come on board by 2018 and from the Lagos Central axis, it’s the
financial district of Nigeria. For Lagos, it’s designed for prosperity and to
complement every achievement that is
being recorded.
“We are likely to have three Sea Ports in Lagosin another two years; we have
the Badagry
Deep Sea Port and the Lekki Port and also the Apapa port. So, somehow, in some
manner,
some things are being put up that seems like a puzzle, but the future
prosperity of Lagos is
more than well assured and we are happy that we are part of that and this
government is
heavily committed to complement the efforts of business men like you.
“In supporting endeavours like this, we would do everything to support whatever
it is you want us to do to make sure that the arrow head of this particular
sector that you have championed will
not just go in vain. I can assure you of that,” the Governor said. Earlier, Mr.
Folawiyo said that the discovery of crude oil in Lagos, which has taken over 25
years to achieve, has gone a long way to show the possibilities achievable if
Government continues to lend support to indigenous
investors and companies.
“At so many points along the way, we could have given up because it was a very
rough road,
but the point is that only a Nigerian company would have continued to do what
we did. The man crux is that we need government and government needs us and
where government
supports assiduously, it can only be success,” he said. Asked how much has gone
into the investment, Folawiyo said the company has committed about $400million
dollars to achieve the feat. He said the current status of the oil well has the
capacity to produce at least 12,000 barrels per day, with a possibility to
increase to 25,000 to 50,000 barrels per day in the nearest future.
Folawiyo also presented Governor Ambode with a sample of the crude oil
discovered by his
company in the State, a confirmation of Lagos
becoming the first basin out of the Niger Delta
to become an oil producing state, which according to him, is by no means a
small feat.
Source:
Nairaland
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