President Buhari Has not Allocated any Oil Bloc to Anyone – Kachikwu

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe
Kachikwu , has clarified that President
Muhammadu Buhari has not allocated oil blocs
to any individual since he came into office.
The minister made the clarification on Monday in
Uyo at the South-South region Town Hall Meeting
organised by the Ministry of Information and
Culture.
The minister who was responding to questions
by some aggrieved participants from the region
over alleged un-equitable distribution of oil blocs,
said that the Federal Government will be fair and
just in giving out such advantages.
“Since we came into office, the government has not
allocated any oil bloc. The president has said that
he will need to correct the mess created by the
past administrations before we begin to think of
giving out such advantages.
The president has emphasised to us, the ministers
that there should be no unjustifiable favour and
any action we take we must be able to defend it.
When the time for the oil bloc allocation comes, it
will follow very clear due process,” he said.
Kachikwu stressed that he was one of those who
believed that the South-South people should
benefit from oil blocs because it would be part
of “giving back to the chicken that laid the
eggs”.
He said it would go a long way to empower the
people and make them to engage in genuine oil
deals, rather than being contractors to oil
companies.
The minister, however, reiterated that when
government wants to consider the allocation, it
would be given to those who have skills and the
finance to develop the blocs.
Kachikwu said that the Federal Government had
finalised the Integrated Power Project with Mobil
Oil Company that would produce 500 megawatts
of power as well as gas pipeline project in Akwa
Ibom.
He said the total investment for the project,
including provision of infrastructure in the area of
locations, was $7 billion.
The minister promised that the Federal
Government will locate oil depots and modular
refineries in the state through private capital
intervention.
In addressing the challenges of militancy in the
region, Kachikwu said he had reached out to the
Niger Delta Avengers for a truce with the Federal
Government to end destruction to oil
installations.
He said the activity of the militants blowing up
oil installations was affecting the economy and
government would use all means possible to end
it.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi , who
was also at the Town Hall Meeting, assured that
the Federal Government would deliver on the
developmental projects it promised Nigerians.
According to him, “it is time to end the blame
game and move forward to concentrate on the
delivery of democracy dividends”.
He said government would deliver the Calabar to
Lagos coastal rail line project, the Calabar to
Port Harcourt, and Lagos to Kano rail projects to
ease movement of people and goods.
Responding to an allegation from a member of
the audience, Amaechi said he did not influence
the appointment of the Director-General of Niger
Delta Development Commission, Ibim Seminitari.
He said the insinuation that he lobbied the
president to take the position from an indigene
of Akwa Ibom for Seminitari in negation of zoning
arrangement was wrong.
The minister said that the president had noted
the zoning arrangement and correction would be
made.
Amaechi also said that government was in the
process of restructuring the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in
order to reposition it to deliver on its statutory
mandate.