Government would enhance the exploration and production of the oil and gas in order to boost the development of domestic gas and power generation nationwide.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, said this on Thursday, at the ‘1st Bayelsa State Investment and Economic Forum’, held in Yenagoa the capital of Bayelsa State.
She said that the Forum was a right platform to harness Nigeria’s resources by transforming the economy from being primarily an exporter of goods to one that thrives on industrial development for the growth of the economy.
She linked Bayelsa as having a direct cardinal programme with the Federal Government on the ongoing reform in the petroleum industry and the restructuring of the economy at a competing cost.
Mrs Alison-Maduekwe stated that the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, in April 2010, signed an historical “Nigerian Content Act” into law in order to ensure indigenous participation and integration of oil production into the main-stream industry, therefore creating the capacity of promoting educational, industrial training and employment in the establishment of a special fund for capacity building.
She emphasised the impact of the Act on citizens in the last four years as having produced over 50 thousand jobs at a strategic locations, thus informing its management headquarter being placed in Bayelsa “to contribute value to local economy” there.
“The expansion of the Nigerian Content Management building which is headquartered in Yenegoa and the construction of a new 200,000 million dollar purpose built 17-storey building permanent headquarter is taking place and over 1000 workers will be employed”, she noted.
During the forum, she urged citizens to take responsibility to ensure that the mission is being actualised by expanding the value chain through diversification of the economy.
