Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Monday briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on progress made with regards to oil exploration initiatives in the Sokoto Basin.
Tambuwal, who spoke with State House correspondents after the meeting, said his briefing followed a recent meeting he had with the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, on the issue.
Tambuwal said he told Buhari about the need for the Federal Government to continue to support the endeavour, which he said, “will help in more provision of oil and gas which we believe is very much in abundance in this basin but also in bringing about agricultural revolution in that area.”
The Sokoto governor also said, “If you have gas, it will support the power supply which will in turn enhance and influence agro- allied industries that are likely to come on board and also have a positive impact economically on the lives and well-being of the people that are along the basin”.
Tambuwal said efforts to exploit oil and gas around the Sokoto Basin began in 1957, adding, however that the “discovery of oil in the Delta which we believe from the information we have is easier to exploit, means there was a shift in focus to that of Niger Delta.”
The governor expressed the belief that there is enough gas in the area for local consumption.
“What we have in that area is more than sufficient for an upward of 20 to 30 days of use by the people of the area.
“If explored, we don’t have to make pipelines from the Delta region up north to North-west states of Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina; if you do that you will ease the problem of evacuation and transportation or piping as it were of gas and petroleum products. So it’s a way of providing cheaper services to the people,” he said.
The Sokoto governor also said he briefed Buhari on the recent visit by some governors from the north to the South-east and South-south regions.
“I am sure you are aware that recently we were in the South-east, as governors from the north. We went to interact with our brothers in the South-east and South-south and particularly people of the North residing there so there was a need for a feedback,” he said.
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