The Bayelsa governor said the state was ready for the partnership because the industrial park project had been on the drawing board for some years.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Bayelsa State has entered into a partnership with the government of Trinidad and Tobago to develop the state’s industrial park.
Both parties agreed on this on Monday when the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner in Nigeria, Amb. Wendell De Leandro, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa.
Amb. Leandro stated that his country had the expertise to convert gas flared at oil production facilities to energy that would power the state’s industrial park.
He explained that when operational, the industrial estate would be powered to produce feed stock, urea and other byproducts, which would in turn create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
The high commissioner, who revealed that his country had stopped gas flaring years ago, insisted that it can be stopped and put to profitable use instead of allowing it to waste and cause environmental hazards.
He said that the bilateral agreement and partnership would be extended to development of the seaport at Agge in Ekeremor Local Government Area to further open up the state.
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Responding, Governor Douye Diri thanked the Trinidad and Tobago envoy for initiating the partnership, saying that it touched vital aspects of the state government’s investment drive.
The Bayelsa governor said the state was ready for the partnership because the industrial park project had been on the drawing board for some years and expressed the optimism that it would come to fruition this time.
He particularly noted that the Agge seaport project was very important to the industrial development of the state and promised that the government would provide land and other facilities to ensure the success of the partnership.
He said: “My team will be ready to meet with your team so that we can expedite action on this new relationship. The Eco-Industrial Park project has been there and we have not been able to bring it to fruition. I believe that it will be expanded beyond what we have seen and this partnership will change the story of Bayelsa.
“Our people are having strange diseases as a result of gas flaring. According to the report of an oil and environmental commission empaneled by my predecessor, laboratory tests established that the oil and gas industry in the state has led to the death of a lot of people. The standards of operation in the Netherlands, in the United Kingdom and in other countries are different from what is obtainable in Nigeria.
“At every opportunity, I call on the federal government to amend the laws governing the oil industry. There cannot be two laws.”