Governor Otti Assures Of Abia State Government Support To The Joint Monitoring Team On Crude Oil Production Boost

Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has assured of the Abia State Government’s support to tackle the issues causing the drop in crude oil production in Nigeria.

Governor Otti gave the assurance on Tuesday, 22nd October, in his Umuehim Nvosi Country home, when he received in audience a delegation of the Defence Headquarters Joint Monitoring Team, led by Major Gen. JAL Jimoh, who paid him a working visit.

Governor Otti who decried the drastic drop in crude oil production in Nigeria, which according to him formed part of his discussion in a recent visit to the National Security Adviser, said that the numbers available to him between June, July, August, put the average oil production level somewhere around 1.4 million barrels per day. He noted that it was far below Nigeria’s crude oil quota of 2.2 million barrels per day.

The Governor recalled that 20 years ago, Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity was about 2.5 million barrels per day.

“Around 20 years ago, I believe that was in 2005, our production capacity, not even the quota, was about 2.5m barrels a day. So, the difference between 2.5 million barrels and 1.4 barrels also speaks to the challenges because if you are not exporting enough oil, you are not going to generate enough foreign currency to deal with all the issues that we have in the country,” the Governor stated.

Governor Otti explained that because Nigeria’s economy is presently largely import dependent, the crisis in the foreign exchange market today can be tamed by a simple improvement in the quantity of Oil we produce and export, noting that it is a demand and supply situation.

“If supply is weak and demand is high, prices will keep going up.”

He assured the team of the support of the State Government to help them succeed in their assignment. In his words,

“We have everything that it takes, all the problems are man-made problems, be it the oil theft, be it the crisis, insurrection in the Niger Delta. And, I believe that with determination and a lot of efforts that you are making, we will tame this oil theft so that our country will improve in terms of foreign exchange receipts and reduce the insurrection we have everywhere”.

“So, I’m fully in support of what you are doing, and I will give you every support that is possible from government, and I will also encourage you to work with your colleagues (the State Security Heads). If there is anything you think they can do, they are all a phone call away. They are your colleagues; work with them so that we can together make a success out of this assignment.” He assured.

Earlier in his speech, the leader of the monitoring team, Major Gen. JAL Jimoh, said that the Joint Monitoring Team was recently constituted to carry out oversight on some of the most pressing challenges faced by the country’s vital crude oil sector.

Speaking on the mandate of the team, he said, “Our mandate is clear: to ensure robust monitoring and oversight across activities related to crude oil and gas extraction, transportation, and security within all the oil-producing areas of the country”.

Speaking further, he said that their visit to Governor Otti was to acknowledge his invaluable support to the initiative, to underscore their commitment towards transparency and cooperative engagement with all stakeholders involved, and to assure the Governor that no effort would be spared to restore optimal operational efficiency within the oil sector.

Other members of the team who joined Maj. Gen. Jimoh, on the visit to Governor Otti, include Rear Admiral D. Fadeyi, Rear Admiral S.D. Ibrahim Air Vice Marshal Dari, Brigadier General A.A. Idris, Colonel M.M. Silong, Lieutenant Colonel M.J. Bent, Commissioner of Police Iyama Daniel, and Commandant Muhammed Waska.