Nigerian commissioner cautions Ghana on its oil and gas development ahead of commercial drilling
By Ceasar Anadem
The Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana His Excellency senator Musiliu Obanikoro has urged the Government of Ghana to ensure massive local content in Ghana’s emerging oil and gas industry something Nigeria could only do in 2006 after drilling oil for some fifty years. The Commissioner gave the advice at the inauguration of Ghana Oil and Gas Services Providers Association.
The Nigerian Senator and High Commissioner to Ghana Musiliu Obanikoro noted that after fifty years of drilling oil in Nigeria, it only took the Federal government in 2006, to change its oil and gas policy to ensure local content. This involved the participation of the indigenes in a sector which had previously been dominated by foreigners. senator Obanikoro said the result of this is the unrest in Nigeria`s oil and gas sector which is now a thorn in their flesh. It is against this backdrop that the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana is concerned about how the country intends to manage local involvement in the oil sector.
He says Ghana can only avoid Nigeria’s experience by ensuring the involvement of the local people in the emerging industry as commercial drilling begins in 2010. He says the government must put in place policies that will stimulate indigenous participation, build capacities, increase gross domestic product and ultimately reposition the country’s economy. Senator Musiliu Obanikoro called for support for indigenous entrepreneurs in the oil sector to enable them make meaningful contributions to the growth of the economy. He also called for effective monitoring of the oil resources in order to ensure stability and a serene environment that will attract more investors.
