Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has expressed concern over the exclusion of the Southeast from Nigeria’s gas master plan despite the region having significant gas deposits beneath its soil.
Soludo voiced his concerns at a Nigerian Content Capacity Building Workshop for Media Stakeholders in Anambra, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) at Golden Tulip Hotel, Awka.
Represented by the state Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr. Law Mefor, the governor also criticised the limited benefits Anambra had received from the country’s crude oil resources despite its recognition as an oil-producing state.
“It is sad that Anambra is sitting on one of the biggest gas reserves in Nigeria, if not in Africa; and, yet, Nigeria’s gas master plan excluded Anambra State and the entire South East. I don’t know if the board is aware of this”, Soludo lamented.
He maintained that Anambra was an oil and gas-producing state but had yet to enjoy substantial benefits from its natural resources.
“And Anambra, indeed, is an oil and gas state, though I cannot say that the state has benefited much from that endowment. It’s something that needs to be critically looked into”, he stated.
The governor urged the NCDMB to intervene in resolving outstanding issues concerning Anambra’s status as an oil-producing state and other related matters.
“The position of Anambra as an oil-producing state and allied issues are yet to be fully settled. It’s quite important that the local content development and monitoring board takes note of this and helps in whatever way you can to address this and put the issue to rest.”
Soludo likened Anambra to a goose laying golden eggs but being denied the opportunity to benefit from its own resources.
He explained that the state’s development and industrialisation ambitions could be difficult to achieve without direct access to its gas reserves.
“And we are expected as a state to drive development and industrialisation. That will remain far, I wouldn’t say an empty dream, but it’s going to be a tall order if we don’t have access to gas, direct access to gas, our own gas.
“We just have to access our gas, and we cannot access it without being part of the nation’s gas master plan”, the governor lamented further.
Earlier, the NCDMB General Manager of Corporate Communication, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, said the board was seeking to establish a stronger presence in the Southeast. He added that it hoped to build lasting partnerships beyond the workshop to improve media coverage and reporting of local content development.
