The Federal Government (FG) has pledged to industrialize Nigeria through gas revolution.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, made the promise in Owerri at the inauguration of a two-day summit on FG’s National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP).
The minister, who described Nigeria as a country that is richly blessed with abundant natural resources, said that the time has come to fully harness the resources.
He also said that natural gas is a catalyst for socioeconomic renaissance, adding that year 2021 to 2030 has been declared the decade of gas.
According to him, the programme is part of efforts by FG to lift 100million Nigerians out of poverty.
“We are gathered today to embark on implementation of the NGEP in Imo, a state with abundant natural resources.
“With a proven gas reserve of over 200 trillion cubic feet in Imo, natural gas is well positioned to be a catalyst for socioeconomic renaissance in the coming decade,” he said.
He, however thanked the government of Imo for partnering with FG on gas programmes while assuring due dividends of investment to the people.
In a remark, Imo governor, Hope Uzodinma thanked FG for keying into viable sectors of the economy for the benefit of the masses.
Uzodimma, who was represented by the state Assembly speaker, Paul Emeziem, assured of his administration’s support for programmes of the FG and called on residents of the state to take advantage of the opportunity to end poverty.
“This programme will come with a lot of utility and job creation for our people. I urge my good people of Imo to embrace it with open arms as part of the prosperity aspirations of our government,” he said.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Power in Imo, Enyinnaya Onuegbu, assured of adequate power supply and regulation of billing system to drive the programme.
