‘Why multinationals won’t relocate HQ to Niger Delta’

News

Friday Olokor,

THE Federal Government has told South-South states that multinational oil companies will not relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta region because peace cannot be guaranteed.
The government said if the place remained insecure, investment would continue to be elusive as no oil company would agree to go there.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, stated these in his speech obtained by journalists on Sunday in Abuja, which was delivered after his induction as patron and conferment of the Peace Ambassador award on him by the Niger Delta Non-Violence Agitators Forum.
Sylva enjoined Niger Deltans to remain steadfast in bringing peace to the oil producing areas.
He said, “What I must say here is that the core of your organisation is non-violence and that is actually the essence of what we want in Nigeria.

“We must bring peace to the Niger Delta. It’s our duty to bring peace to the Niger Delta. Sometimes, we are worried that investment opportunities are not coming to the Niger Delta. But we must realise that it’s our activities that will determine whether these opportunities will come or not.

“Right now, we are saying that oil companies must move their headquarters to the Niger Delta. But it’s our duty to ensure that the place is peaceful enough for the oil companies to move back there. If the place is insecure, you will actually believe that no oil company will agree to go there.”

At the event, the President of NDNAF, Wisdom Ikuli, said Sylva was chosen because he reduced Niger Delta militancy.
He said in the midst of “this terrible situation”, Sylva as the then governor of Bayelsa State “took the greatest risk and boldest step to confront the hydra-headed monster that was threatening to consume everybody, including the key actors.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.