Aviashima Toom, Makurdi.
President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would soon commence search for oil and gas in the Benue river.
President Buhari explained that this was the next step following the commencement of drilling in the Kolmani River area, located within Bauchi and Gombe states.
He made the disclosure while addressing traditional rulers at the Banquet Hall, Government House in Makurdi, Benue State, on Wednesday.
President Buhari recalled that as Minister of Petroleum in the 1970s, he had seen “very interesting seismic surveys that promised oil and gas from the Chad Basin through the Benue Trough down to the Delta region.”
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He said for mostly commercial reasons, investment was directed to the Niger Delta given the promise of quicker results.
President Buhari narrated past efforts by him as a military Head of State to diversify the country’s sources of oil to strengthen its unity, promising that his administration will intensify efforts in this direction.
Governor Samuel Ortom, in his remarks, called for free and fair elections, urging all contestants to abide by the outcome.
He told the President that, “We believe you are a man of integrity and you keep your words. I will like to believe that you will not do anything to truncate our democracy.”
