ANAMBRA’s OIL PRODUCING STATUS


IfeanyiChukwu Afuba
I thought I had nailed it with my article, “Soludo as Obiano’s Parting Legacy” (This Day, June 30, 2021). The choice of Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the more capable and widely accepted in the 2021 Anambra governorship race, as the APGA  candidate seemed the final legacy to bequeath the State after a string of milestones. From the delivery of a modern Fire Service to an alluring NYSC permanent orientation camp; from the longest bridge in the southeast to the first oxygen plant in the region; from birthing a Court of Appeal Division in the State to the Nkwelle Shoe – Leather industrial complex; and from the first – class Awka international conference centre to the international cargo airport, Anambra had never had it so good. But perhaps, the best was yet to come.
And in August, some six months to the end of the  Obiano tenure, another looming legacy birthed. Path – finder Willie led Anambra State   into the club of oil producing states.
What a dream come true! What a long walk to the promised land! 
The quest goes back thirty years ago following the creation of the new Anambra State in 1991.
First civilian Governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, was not envied by many as he stepped into office January 2,1992. Expectations were great and immediate; yet, the funds largely unavailable. The new State was infrastructurally impoverished and the population hungry for development. The reality however, was that Anambra was second to last on the revenue allocation table. What to do? Governor Ezeife drew the attention of the military authority ruling at the centre to the oil deposits in the State with a view to opening drilling processes. The Ibrahim Babangida junta acknowledged viability of the deposits but said the State’s oil fields were placed under strategic reserve.
Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju, first Governor in the fourth republic  thought of a private sector route of cutting through the problem. His administration facilitated the incorporation of Orient Petroleum Limited towards becoming a key player in the State axis of the petroleum industry. 
Subsequent governments could not go beyond equity consolidation, administrative assistance for the Orient enterprise and occasional call for development of the State’s oil resources. With a four cardinal programme that included “oil and gas as a key pillar of (our) industrial growth”, the Obiano administration gave indication of its mission at inception. It set up the Anambra State Oil & Gas Committee to effectively drive the process.
In just one year, Orient Petroleum was producing 12, 000 barrels of crude oil a day. The construction of the magnificent  bridge, second longest in the southeast after the Niger bridge, linking the oil rigs at Umueje was a bold step by the Obiano government to keep the oil venture on course. With logistics and other necessary support from the administration, the Orient refinery was completed and became operational. 
The breakthrough spurred new interests and actors. Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company of India  commenced it’s own operations in  Ogbaru. Meanwhile, Kogi and Enugu States laid claim to parts of the State’s oil wells in the boundary areas.
Navigating the counter claims of other interested parties was as tasking as coping with the multi statutory bodies for attaining oil producing rights. Continued engagement with the federal authorities finally paid off with the approval of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation & Fiscal Commission in it’s letter of 24th August, 2021.
With the Anambra cargo airport set to begin routine flights, the State’s petroleum sector cannot be better anchored. Its operations will get a big boost with the airport services.
Like the airport, the realisation of the oil producing rights is another  dream come true for Ndi Anambra. It is treasured as a value in equity and fair play.
Perhaps, it’s a twin parting legacy from Governor Willie Obiano. Soludo stands strong in the governorship race with the best credentials to take the State to the next stage. The oil producing benefits to begin accruing to the State assures the extra resources for continued development. No handover asset from Obiano to his successor can be more handsome at this time.

Afuba is editor of Anambra Times.

Source: Drumnewsonline

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