Blessing Iruoma, Port Harcourt
A non-governmental organisation, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), has told the federal government that legalising the operation of modular refineries in the Niger Delta would reduce unemployment rate in the region.
President of group, Dr. Douglas Fabeke, who made the call, at the weekend, at a stakeholders meeting of Ogoni host community, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, demanded that the federal government should grant licenses for operation of modular refinery in the Niger Delta.
He stressed that if granted, the illegal oil refining operators would be reformed into cooperative, which would benefit the government as crime rate would reduce, generate more revenue with operators caused to pay taxes to the government like other oil multinational companies.
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Fabeke commended the federal and Rivers State Governments for tackling the effects of illegal refinery in the region, adding that modular refinery, if legalised would end the economic sabotage experienced in the country.
Said he, “To reduce these illegal refineries, for example, Niger Delta states are oil states. Government should set a platform that will be easier for private investors, private partners to come into oil and gas industries, setting up modular refinery, giving them license, reducing the procedures that can be easier for investors to come into this businesses.
“We already have a proposal we sent to the government and our proposal is coupled with industrial fabrication for modular refinery.
“That means we can build the modular refinery here and also fabricate the part and this will create more jobs.
“Like in Ogoni, we don’t have modular refinery, the Eleme Petrochemical Refinery is not working. Government cannot manage their refineries, Nigeria should not be a country where fuel became a problem, there is no need to import fuel because we the crude oil.
“Government should bring up a policy that will enable individual to go into modular refinery and also refine our oil here. Is also going to reduce the burden and cost on the government by so doing this, it will reduce unemployment.
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“Now you have destroyed all the illegal refinery and bunkering, the boys are on the streets, they will actually enter into another crime because they want to survive, they have seen money.
“So, if government can implement that proposal that each of the states in the Niger Delta should have refinery, some of the oil rich region should a refinery, create a platform that will be easier for investors to come in and invest”.
Recalling the effort of the state government in trashing the menace of soot from its root, the group advised other Niger Delta states to emulate steps taken by Rivers government in fighting illegal refinery activities which has reduced the air pollution for some time now.
“There was a time that the federal government planned to build six modular refinery in Niger Delta, and Government cannot do this thing by themselves.
“What the governor has done in Rivers State is the best, other governors in the Niger Delta should emulate the Rivers State government in tackling the menace of soot and see how they can create investment programme to eradicate illegal modular refinery.”