Lagos now officially an oil producing state’ Gov. Ambode

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday
declared that Lagos has officially joined the League of Oil
Producing States in Nigeria following the discovery of crude
oil by Tunde Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited in
Badagry, Lagos.
Governor Ambode who made the declaration when the
management of the company led by the Group Managing
Director, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo paid him a courtesy visit at
the Lagos House, Ikeja, commended the firm for their
doggedness to achieve the feat after 25 years of hard work,
saying that by the provision of Section 162 Sub-Section 2 of
the Nigeria Constitution, Lagos has become an oil
producing State.
He declared, “I want to thank you very much for this and I
say it with all conviction because I know that based on
section 162 Sub-Section 2 of the Nigeria Constitution,
Lagos becomes an oil producing state and by virtue of this,
the 13 percent derivation that is due to oil producing states,
Lagos will start to partake from it by your very good
gesture. So we officially declare Lagos State as an oil
producing state, we also notify the Federal Government by
this action that we would be sharing out of the 13 percent
derivation. So all we need do is to apply and then we join.”
Governor Ambode also said that the feat has not only
placed Lagos in the history books as the first state outside
the Niger Delta to become an oil producing State, but has
also opened up a new page for revenue generation in the
State.
“It also means that by the additional revenue that is coming
from this action, we would have more resources to provide
infrastructure for Lagosians and this is what we want other
investors and businessmen to emulate, so that beyond the
issue of profit, you are actually creating impact on people
without them necessarily knowing that it is actually coming
from a venture like this that you have embarked on,” he
said.
He said the resilience of the Tunde Folawiyo Petroleum
Company, an indigenous firm has shown the possibilities
and opportunities for investors and businessmen willing to
commit their resources to boost local production.
“I want to commend what you have done, it’s a sign that
you believe so much in Lagos State. I want to congratulate
you, I want to showcase you as a very good example of a
dogged entrepreneur, as someone who believes in Nigeria
because that’s what you epitomize here.
“The Federal Government has always said that we all need
to look back inwards and start to do things for ourselves.
Spending 25 years to be able to get to this stage and get
something productive shows a lot about your belief,
tenacity and doggedness and I want to recommend you to
every other Nigerian investor that there is still greater hope
for Nigeria and with the likes of you, I don’t see any reason
why any Nigerian needs to be afraid because you have just
shown by this indigenous discovery that anything is
possible in Nigeria.
“This discovery is by a 100 per cent indigenous firm and at
times like this when we are experiencing dwindling revenue
from different areas of our economy; at times like this
when foreign exchange is highly turbulent, it gives one
great hope that the future prosperity of Nigeria is assured
and is secured by transactions like this,” Governor Ambode
said.
Governor Ambode said that what the historic discovery
means for Lagos is that the three Senatorial Districts,
Lagos West, Lagos East and Lagos Central have all
combined to open up the economic and investment
potentials of the State.
“I will like to let you know that that we have three senatorial
zones in Lagos; from the Lagos West axis, we have crude
oil coming out of it, from the Lagos East axis, we have the
petrochemical refinery factory coming from the Lagos Free
Trade Zone by the Dangote Group which will come on board
by 2018 and from the Lagos Central axis, it’s the financial
district of Nigeria. For Lagos, it’s designed for prosperity
and to complement every achievement that is being
recorded.
“We are likely to have three Sea Ports in Lagos in another
two years; we have the Badagry Deep Sea Port and the
Lekki Port and also the Apapa port. So, somehow, in some
manner, some things are being put up that seems like a
puzzle, but the future prosperity of Lagos is more than well
assured and we are happy that we are part of that and this
government is heavily committed to complement the
efforts of business men like you.
“In supporting endeavours like this, we would do everything
to support whatever it is you want us to do to make sure
that the arrow head of this particular sector that you have
championed will not just go in vain. I can assure you of
that,” the Governor said.
Earlier, Mr. Folawiyo said that the discovery of crude oil in
Lagos, which has taken over 25 years to achieve, has gone
a long way to show the possibilities achievable if
Government continues to lend support to indigenous
investors and companies.
“At so many points along the way, we could have given up
because it was a very rough road, but the point is that only
a Nigerian company would have continued to do what we
did. The man crux is that we need government and
government needs us and where government supports
assiduously, it can only be success,” he said.
Asked how much has gone into the investment, Folawiyo
said the company has committed about $400million dollars
to achieve the feat.
He said the current status of the oil well has the capacity to
produce at least 12,000 barrels per day, with a possibility
to increase to 25,000 to 50,000 barrels per day in the
nearest future.
Folawiyo also presented Governor Ambode with a sample
of the crude oil discovered by his company in the State, a
confirmation of Lagos becoming the first basin out of the
Niger Delta to become an oil producing state, which
according to him, is by no means a small feat.
SIGNED
HABIB ARUNA
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY

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