Oil rich in Bida Basin - Niger state to Buhari

– Niger state government has revealed abundant oil exist in the Bida Basin

– The government said this was already contained in a report from a team set up by the previous government

– This is likely going to reduce the dependence on Niger Delta oil in the country as Lagos has already been certified an oil-producing state

The search for oil in the north has received a boost following the revelation by the Niger state government that large quantity of crude oil was in the Bida Basin ready for exploration.

The country had suffered a setback in the production of oil due to the activities of Niger Delta militants which has also affected the country’s revenue.

The dependence on Niger Delta oil seems is going to thin down as a similar exploration in Lagos made it one of the oil producing states.

Jonathan Vatsa who is the commissioner for information, culture and tourism in Niger revealed that the immediate past state government, through a committee it set up, had confirmed the availability of large quantity of crude oil in the Bida Basin.

He said: “The search for crude oil will not be complete in the north until Bida Basin, which has a lot of potential, is included because there had been several intensification of crude oil search with re-invigorated exploration based on fresh strategy.”

He advised that Bida Basin be included in the renewed search for hydrocarbon deposits as this would set up a boost for the state and the whole country.

In 2011, the state government inaugurated a 24-man committee, under the chairmanship of General M. I. Wushishi, called Gubernatorial Committee on the Development of Bida Basin with the mandate to establish facts about the availability of oil and gas in Bida Basin and give recommendations.

The research by the team is going to be a boost for Nigeria and also reduce the concentration of oil production in the Niger Delta region.

It would be recalled that Dr. Maikanti Baru who is the group managing director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation hinted that the government had stepped up its decision to explore oil in other parts of the country especially the north east

Meanwhile, a group, Adaka Boro Avengers warned south east and south south people to return back to the region as a date has been set for the declaration of the Niger Delta Republic.

The spokesperson of the group, General Edmos Ayayeibo in a statement issued on Sunday, July 24 ordered people from the north and the south west to vacate the South-South before August 1.

Ayayeibo also called on the federal government to “move out all military personnel and all government agencies out of the Niger Delta as failure will lead to destruction of military barracks and personnel.”

He also warned that Hausa and Yoruba people who remained in the region after August 1 will have themselves to blame for whatever befalls them.