Omo-Agege Warns against Relocation of Oil Firms

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, on Tuesday warned against the relocation of the headquarters of oil companies from the Niger Delta region.

Omo-Agege in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr. Yomi Odunuga, also submitted that there was no need for Nigeria to continue with the multi-billion Naira oil subsidy regime.

The deputy Senate president, according to the statement, expressed dismay over the insistence of some multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to move their headquarters elsewhere, with attendant job losses, and therefore demanded their relocation to the region.

Omo-Agege was quoted as saying: “I have always taken the position that there is no need for us to continue with this subsidy; all we need to do is to fix the refineries.

“But today, I have seen many people in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and elsewhere moving, because they believe we ought to continue with this subsidy regime.

“I am from the Niger Delta, and there are a lot of us who believe that most of the oil companies doing business in that area ought to have their offices and their headquarters in that same area so as to provide employment opportunities.

“There is an issue that is raging right now in the Niger Delta area, and it has to do with the Nigerian Gas Company in Ekpan-Warri; they are also threatening to move their headquarters from Warri in Delta State to elsewhere.

“I am seeking a commitment today as the representative of the people of Delta Central that no ministerial nominee today will eventually superintend over the movement of Nigerian Gas Company elsewhere.

“I also seek a commitment that those companies doing business in the Niger Delta region but have their headquarters elsewhere should come back to the area to provide jobs for our teeming youths.”

According to Omo-Agege, all that is needed to address the lingering issue of inadequate refined oil production to match local consumption is to fix the country’s ailing refineries.

He also expressed surprise that in spite of obvious economic realities, some people within and outside the NNPC still continue to believe that subsidy is the solution.