Bayelsa Government Ready To Partner With Genuine Investors – Perm Sec
4 min read
Commissioner for Trade, Industry & Investment
by Oyagiri Chime-emele
The Bayelsa State Ministry of Trade, Industry and Investment, has stated that, it is ready to partner with genuine investors from outside and within the state to drive Governor Douye Diri’s prosperity agenda.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Barr Patience Ranami Abah made the statement in her office, Wednesday March 31st, while chatting with newsmen, adding that the government had created an enabling environment for businesses to strive.
“This government is looking at how a lot of projects can be privatized. The government will create certain incentives for private sector to come in and partner with the state to run and manage those facilities,” she stated.
Abah further stated that, recognising the importance of power supply, the state had listed the ‘gas to power’ project as a priority since all businesses depend wholly on power.
According to her: “For us, the number one issue is ‘gas to power’. Bayelsa has the highest gas reserve in the country and indeed one of the highest in the world.
“So, ‘gas to power’ is number one. What we are looking at really is attracting power generation companies to come in and latch into power generation here. You can not drive in the project without power. Ask any SME or even the large companies, the highest expense is on power.”
On the seeming rising insecurity and government preparations to curb it, she said; “It is multi layered. We should firstly ask ourselves why these happen. Any youth who is gainfully occupied, gainfully able to earn a living, would not find themselves going into those sorts of activities.
Abah blamed traditional belief as reason why traders continue to display their wares on major roads in the state, and assured the public that the ministry had started the process of putting the traders off the road for their safety and that of buyers since safety of the citizenry is the focus of every responsible government.
The Perm Sec urged the public, especially the traders to co-operate with the government as it would soon start the process of relocating them, promising that Kpansia traders would soon be relocated since the work is almost completed.
“Traditionally, that is what people are used to. People believe that if you don’t do your trading in a place where you are visible, you will lose out in business. But of course, that also has to be balanced with public safety and nuisance.
“There is currently a plan to work on how these markets can be relocated to areas where trading can be done more safely and in a way that will not constitute public nuisance.
*Like the new Kpansia market, the shops are already constructed but there are little finishing that is left to be done, so that people can occupy and operate from, which will be safer and better for the traders,” she explained.
She called on the federal government to do same with the Niger Delta oil and gas as it did with the Gold mining in other parts of the country.
In her words; “For other commodities, take gold for instance, the federal government has been able to bring those otherwise called illegal miners to the main stream.
“That hasn’t happened for oil. We feel that if the federal government can do that for some other parts of the country, they should also try to apply same with what happens in the Niger Delta oil.
“In other parts of the country, they are given the opportunity to mine, while here people that do that are called vandals, criminals.” she quipped.
Abah supported the proposal for modular refineries for the people of Niger Delta region as suggested by the vice president, Femi Osibanjo some years back.
According to her; “These people that are out there cooking diesel can be brought in more formalized way.
“Their activities if not formalized causes environmental hazards, which falls back to us at the end of the day.”
“Even in the supposed perfect climes, you still find people doing that. Industrialization is the key. You can not separate poverty from insecurity. Those two things work hand in hand. Areas you have higher rate of poverty, you will also have higher rate of insecurity.
Commenting on Governor Diri’s prosperity agenda, she said,
” The ‘prosperity agenda’ means getting people to be able to work so that they can prosper. Work doesn’t necessarily mean giving them employment, it can also mean business. Whatever people can apply their energies to be able to earn a living, either by running a business or by working for someone else who can pay him.”
Giving insight on her ministry’s responsibilities, she said; “Just as the name suggests, the ministry is responsible for setting policy for trade issues, industry issues and investment issues in Bayelsa State.”
