Delta Assembly seeks communities’ support for $20 billion gas park

Members of the Delta State House of Assembly yesterday called on the host communities and other people of the state to ensure that work goes on smoothly in the proposed $20 billion gas park at Ogidigben in Warri South-West Local Council of the State.

They urged youths in the communities not to disrupt work but ensure that peace reigns in their domains to allow for timely completion of the project.

Representative of Warri South-West constituency, Daniel Mayuku and his Ika North-East constituency counterpart, Emeka Elekeokwuri, who spoke after plenary yesterday in Asaba, expressed delight at the project.

They added that it would reduce unemployment in the state, as it could create 250,000 jobs for the youths and other categories of workers.

“We do not want the irate youths to disrupt the project. We call on the host communities to ensure peace while work lasts. If you take a speedboat from Warri to Escravos, what you see are instruments of exploration.

“The Maritime University, which was almost taken away from the region, is the only project in the area. We hope that the gas project will be a stepping stone for others to come,” they said.

The lawmakers decried the level of development in the state and the Niger Delta region in general, describing the gas project as timely in view of prevailing current economic realities. They added that the project would boost the revenue and economic base of the state.

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, while speaking with international investors of the project at the Presidential Villa on Monday, had stated that building an industrial gas hub in Delta State was one of the feedbacks received during his recent visit to the state.

However, some irate youths in the host communities had allegedly threatened to disrupt work at the project site, saying what Osinbajo said was an empty promise as the Federal Government had neglected the Niger-Delta region.

But the lawmakers said the youths’ reason for planning to disrupt work at the project site was absurd and irrational.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, said on Tuesday in Abuja at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference on “Reforming and Re-positioning the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria,