FG Backs $3.6b Fertilizer Firm in Bayelsa

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Federal Government has expressed its support for the $3.6 billion Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical Company in Bayelsa State, which is expected to commence operations soon.

Receiving a delegation of the company’s executives yesterday, who were led to the State House by the Bayelsa State Governor, Mr Seriake Dickson, the Acting President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration was promoting a new way of thinking and engagement that will secure the development of the Niger Delta and the entire country.

According to him, this new approach, described as the New Vision, involves an active and effective collaboration between the government, the private sector and the communities.

The Acting President boasted that this approach ensures that “we finish whatever we start.”

Mr Osinbajo lamented that only 12 percent completion rate was recorded in several of the projects undertaken by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in the past years with the rest abandoned.

He said “sometimes, projects are designed not to succeed, but just for some people to make money.”

He however noted that “a new way of thinking is emerging,” pointing to effective collaboration with the private sector and citing the example of the NLNG as one instance of such effective collaborations.

“The Buhari administration, this government is committed to finishing whatever we start. At the end of the day, we shall ensure that,” he affirmed, adding that the oil-producing communities have tremendous potentials.

While commending the Bayelsa State Governor for his proactive efforts, the Acting President commended the collaboration that is ongoing regarding the Brass company.

“This is what we describe as the New Vision: partnership between the Federal Government, the States, the communities and the private sector. This is the new way of thinking that is emerging, the New Vision,” Mr Osinbajo said.

In his remarks, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, described the idea of the Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical firm as “a game changer that we need to encourage,” adding that such ideas have the potential to change the economic model in the Niger Delta.