From Uche Usim, Abuja
As millions of Nigerians battle multi-dimensional poverty, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has blamed the ugly situation on the fact that the nation was not utilising its wealth from oil and gas to better the lot of the citizens nor develop other critical sectors of the economy.
The Senate President, who spoke at the capacity building workshop for the various hydrocarbon-related committees of the Nigeria National Assembly, organised by the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) on Monday in Abuja, said it was worrisome that that Nigeria’s petroleum resources seem to be more of a curse than a blessing.
Akpabio, who was represented at the event by the Senate Committee Chairman, Petroleum Upstream, Etang Williams, pushed for a deepened engagement between the National Assembly and key oil and gas industry players to fashion out ways to ensure the resources of the sector become the lever used to lift Nigerians from the pit of poverty to enviable heights of prosperity.
He said: “The oil has not been as much of a blessing as it ought to be. In fact, some think it has become a curse because the proceeds from the oil are not utilized to support the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. “These sectors have been neglected. We do not have the groundnut pyramids in the north anymore, we do not have the cocoa house in the West anymore, we do not have the palm plantation in the East anymore.
“We now have a resource curse or paradox of plenty. A resource curse is a situation in which nations fail to use their wealth to improve the living condition of their people and foster their economy. The wealth leads to corruption and poverty rather than economic development.
“These countries in the end slide down in growth and development. That has been the story of Nigeria. It was one of the reasons the Bola Tinubu’s administration had to do away with the petroleum subsidy which has destroyed our economy by installment.
“We need bold actions to address this big problem. It is a story we in the National Assembly want to change for the sake of our country and posterity.” Akpabio added that with collaborative efforts, Nigeria would be able to meet the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production quota which stands at 1.8 million barrels per day.