L-R: PDP BOT CHAIRMAN. CHIEF TONY ANENIH, VP NAMADI SAMBO; PRESIDENT JONATHAN; DAME PATIENCE JONATHAN & PDP CHAIRMAN, ALH BAMANGA TUKUR AT THE PDP SPECIAL NATIONAL CONVENTION IN ABUJA. AUGUST 31, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO, August 31, (THEWILL) – President Goodluck Jonathan said at the Special National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja on Saturday that the PDP-led Government has created opportunities for 338 Nigerians to own petroleum vessels, thereby generating over 30,000 jobs, declaring that the policy of empowering Nigerians to be key players in the sector is in furtherance of the PDP vision for job and wealth creation.
“Nigerians now own crude oil transportation tankers flying Nigerian flags. In fact, before the PDP administration, we had no Nigerian owning vessels and tankers. In fact, up to 2011, there were only about 54 vessels owned by Nigerians even though we have the cabotage law in this country,” he said, adding “But now we have 388 and the number is increasing and has created over 30,000 jobs for Nigerians. ”
According to President Jonathan, “For the first time, Nigeria has a local content law, which has robustly improve local capacity and indigenous participation in the infrastructural investment.” He disclosed that the federal government aspires “to have the biggest petrochemical in the world in Nigeria.”
He stated further, “We have further created the Sovereign Wealth Fund and built our external reserves, both of which has assisted the country to weather the storm of oil price volatility. “The PDP-led government is building a sustaining industry and creating oil and gas institutions of the future through the Petroleum Industry Bill currently awaiting passage into law by the National Assembly.”
He noted that it has also created an enabling environment for sustained and stable supply of petroleum products by the downstream sector just as it is working to ensure the efficient administration of the subsidy programme.
“You will realise that before the PDP came on board, most of you knew, all of you who also use cars, every taxi driver and everybody who has a car, has a jerry can in his boot. You must have a jerry can of fuel in your booth because you can never know when you will have petroleum product and hide one jerry can in your house and pray that you should not have accident. Now, nobody carries jerry can about,” he stated.
He listed other achievements in the oil and gas sector to include sustained oil and gas production, gas commercialisation and infrastructural implementation programme, gas industrialisation scheme and commencement of mobilisation for a new free trade zone in Ogidigben, Delta State, where a world class petrol-chemical and fertilizer plants are to be built.
“That will create over five million jobs and one of the biggest petrochemical complex in the world,” he said, while the compressed national gas programme, according to him, progresses “with 2,000 cars already converted in Benin.”
The president said: “If you go to Benin today, over 2,000 cars use gas, which is cheaper. And conversion from PMS to gas is a simple process, and we want this to cut across the country. So instead of flaring gas, we will no longer use PMS to drive our cars but we will use gas which is cheaper and it is a better way of carbon. It is a cleaner source of hydro-carbon and environmental friendly because combustion is total.”
He listed other accomplishments of the administration to include the backward integration policy, power reform presentation of the mid-term report, empowerment of women and gender inclusion, saying the PDP rule has availed the country of added developments in telecommunication, banking, education, FCT transformation, roads constructions, aviation, agriculture and overall infrastructural upgrading.
He said a “bold and decisive action” was taken to tackle the security challenges , noting that normalcy is returning back to the affected areas.
“Our people are reclaiming their rights to live in peace once again. We will protect and Nigerians wherever they may be so that they can go about their lawful business with fear or molestation. There will be no sanctuary for all those who seek to impose the ideology of hate and violence on the good people of this country,” he said as he praised the law enforcement and security agencies “for the admirable work that they continue to do to safeguard and protect the lives and properties of our citizens.”
According to President Jonathan, “Most of the security infrastructure that the PDP inherited were built decades ago when crime was not as sophisticated as we have it today.” He however assured Nigerians that “The defence and protection of our citizens is our number priority.”
