Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
President of South Sudan, Mr Sylva Kiir Mayardit, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria’s continued leadership towards galvanizing African Oil Producers to stabilize the global oil market for the benefit of the continent.
Mr Mayardit made this commendation when he welcomed the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, on an official visit to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, over the weekend.
President Kiir, who was represented by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan, Mr Deng Dau Malek appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment in ensuring the development of oil and gas in Africa.
“We are grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari for sending his Minister to discuss issues related to the oil and gas sector on the African continent and particularly to further galvanize Africa’s involvement in the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),” he said.
He noted that aside from learning from Nigeria’s lengthy experience in the oil and gas business, South Sudan needed Nigeria’s support in terms of security sector reforms and other issues that will lead to attaining lasting peace in South Sudan.
He then used the opportunity to ask Mr Sylva to inform President Buhari about the current status of the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement at a crucial time in the country’s nationhood.
The President also expressed his appreciation for the invitation extended to South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum, Mr Awow Daniel Chuang, to attend the forthcoming APPO conference in Abuja later in December.
In his remarks, Mr Sylva stated that he was in South Sudan to deepen the relationship between Nigeria and its sister oil-producing nations, especially in terms of compliance with OPEC’s production cuts so as to maximize the values of hydrocarbon resources.
South Sudan like Nigeria is a member of APPO and produces about 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
Mr Sylva, who is the current APPO President, also used the opportunity to call on African Oil Producers to balance the lure of crude oil production and oil price in the market.
“It is better for the economies of our countries if the price is fair and reasonable,” he said.
He then assured Nigeria’s continued support to Nigerian companies operating in South Sudan, stressing that African countries are brothers and must maintain their friendship for the benefit of their respective countries.
Also, present with the Minister’s entourage for the visit were the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari and Nigeria’s Governor to OPEC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim.
