Sylvanus Eze, who was in Anambra State when President Jonathan declared it as the 10th oil producing state in Nigeria, brings the report of attendant accolades. Excerpts:ANAMBRA State became the 10th oil producing state permitimate Thursday, when President Goodluck Jonathan declared it an oil producing state in Otu Aguleri during the inauguration ceremony of Onitsha Riverport complex in the state. In his speech, the president commended the state government for initiating the Orient refinery, saying that he came to the state, to see its gas flaring and as a result, declared the state a member of the league of oil producing states in the country.The president also used the occasion to inaugurate a number of privately-owned companies, stating also that 'all over the world, the private sector remains the engine of job creation.' The president re-iterated his promise to the people of the South-East and South-South on the second Niger Bridge, saying that the bridge had to be built since it was the only link between the two zones and Lagos, the country's economic centre.President Jonathan said at the inauguration that 'the good of today is not just for the people of Anambra State and South-East or the Orient Petroleum Resource Plc prospering in the oil field, but the entire Nigerian nation.' He, therefore, called on investors in the sector to invest in the state, not only to export the crude oil, but to also refine it and add value to it, as according to him, 'people who add value to it make more money than those who export just raw crude.'The president commended Orient Petroleum Resources Plc for pioneering the initiatives by diversifying into refining of the product, noting that the transformation agenda of his administration encouraged private partnership, while also assuring that the federal government would support Orient to succeed. 'The flag of resource control is now flying in Anambra State with the discovery of oil,' he said. President Jonathan also thanked the Chairman of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary-General of Common Wealth for the feat.The state governor, Mr Peter Obi, in his remarks, described the event as historic due to the resilience and perseverance of the management of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison Madueke, in her own remarks, said the Federal Government was giving attention to the inland sedimentary basin, as well as finding ways to support local investors in the oil sector, while promising to assist Orient Petroleum Resources Plc to succeed as the first indigenous oil prospectors.Earlier in his address, Chief Emeka Anyaoku gave the recipe for the company's success as 'diligence in every step of its operations.' He also said that the company, in conjunction with the state government, had set up a conflict resolution committee to nip all communal disagreements in the bud, adding that the company had been stockpiling crude oil in readiness for the first phase of its refinery next year.Earlier, while commenting on the issue of erosion threatening the people of the area, the president said the World Bank would support the South Eastern zone with credit facility of $450 million dollar for erosion control which he said could attract 0.05 per-cent service charge, with 10 years of grace and 40 years repayment period.For successful and durable democracy in Nigeria, the president also said, 'we must do everything possible to stop imposition or appointment of governors, senators, House of Representatives members, state legislators and other political office holders by the powers that be as we do not think it will deepen democratic process.'He harped on the need for credible elections in Nigeria, which are devoid of imposition of candidates.In another development, President Jonathan, at the inauguration of one of the privately-owned companies, Orange Group Limited, expressed satisfaction over the number of privately-owned companies in the state, saying that 'the call all over the world, is that the private sector remained the engine of job creation and invited other privately owned companies in Nigeria to emulate these private companies.'The Executive Chairman, Orange Group Limited, Sir Tony Ezenna (OFR), in his address, said the policy of economic transformation of the president had challenged entrepreneurs to rise to the demands of meeting the increased needs of the market.'It was in response to this direct challenge to Nigerian business leaders to pursue backward integration that Orange Group Limited embarked on the initiative of establishing the factory you have commissioned today in Onitsha, the commercial capital of the South Eastern state,' he said.He said that the soap factory 'has high tech and fully automated machine, with capacity to produce 15 tonnes of soap noodles with 12 finishing lines when completed. The concept was to locally produce the basic raw material soap noodles for their internal consumption and sales to others within and outside Nigeria,' he said.He thanked the president and members of his entourage, for the honour done Orange Group Limited, saying the 'day marks an important milestone in the life of the company' and further added that the success of the present administration of President Jonathan has opened up greater opportunities for the country's entrepreneurs, to rise to the demands of meeting the increased needs of the market. "Mr President, we are humbled by your humility and inspired by your commitment to our country and we thank you immensely for this visit.'At the stakeholders' meeting with the people of the South-East at the Anambra State Governor's lodge in Amawbia, where the stakeholders insisted on knowing why the former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji resigned, President Goodluck Jonathan revealed some of the circumstances behind his resignation.He insisted that the former minister did not commit any offence, saying that Professor Nnaji was a competent hand, especially on areas of robotic engineering, that the intrigues following his controversial resignation were captured on issue of credibility.'In the course of the privatisation exercise in PHCN by the Federal Government, which he was supervising, certain things happened that could infringe on his credibility and so he stepped aside. He said he was using the opportunity of being in their midst to exonerate the former minister of any offence and promised to source for another competent person for the ministry who would continue from where Nnaji stopped.
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