The President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, agreed with the often repeated line that oil has been a curse to Nigeria rather than a blessing.
According to Akpabio, oil has not been as much a blessing as it ought to be, agreeing that some people think it has become a curse because the proceeds from the oil were not utilised to support agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
The Senate President, however, expressed confidence that the country can meet the 1.8m barrels daily crude oil output quota of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Akpabio stated this at the National Assembly Capacity Building Workshop organised by the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) on Monday in Abuja.
The Senate President, who was represented by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Etang Williams, expressed satisfaction that the crude oil output hit 1.35 million barrels per day in September.
According to him, this was 14 per cent higher than the figure for August and the highest figure so far in 2023.
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He said the determination and effort of the Federal Government yielded this dividend and had given hope that Nigeria could attain the OPEC quota with careful planning.
Speaking further, Akpabio said he was optimistic that the engagement between the National Assembly and key oil and gas industry players would help Nigeria to move on a path that would bring progress and development to the citizens.
“The oil has not been as much as a blessing as it ought to be. In fact, some think it has become a curse because the proceeds from the oil are not utilised to support 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 cost or paradox of plenty.
“A resource cost is a situation in which nations fail to use their wealth to improve the living condition of their people and foster their economy,” Akpabio said.
He further stated that this was one of the reasons the Bola Tinubu administration had to do away with the petroleum subsidy, which had destroyed the nation’s economy by installments.
“We need bold action to address big problem, it is a story we in the National Assembly want to change for the sake of our country and posterity,” he added.
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