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By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
Following the discovery of oil and gas in the Benue basin of Bauchi state particularly in Alkaleri Local Government Area which exploration is ongoing, the state government has said that it is taking all necessary measures and steps to enable it benefit maximally from discovery.
The disclosure was made by the State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed while addressing journalists on his 2-day engagement with stakeholders of Alkaleri local government area as part of his ongoing community engagement.
The Governor also unveiled plans by his administration to establish a Skill Acquisition Center in order to provide the needed manpower for the oil exploration in Alkaleri oil site of the state.
He went on to express optimism that, Bauchi State will be the future of Nigeria because of the discovery of oil, gas and other mineral resources which abound in the Alkaleri LGA and other parts of the state.
According to the Governor, “The issue of discovery of oil and gas in Alkaleri is a good development not only to Alkaleri, Northern Nigeria but Nigeria as a whole, and definitely this discovery is an opportunity for everybody”.
Bala Mohammed added that, “And as a Government, we are planning to establish a Skill Acquisition Center to ensure effective engagement of our youth in oil activities to reduce unemployment.”
He therefore urged stakeholders notably traditional, community rulers as well as religious leaders in Alkaleri oil site to eschew personal interest for proper utilization of the opportunity by not supporting people with questionable characters to engage in criminal activities in the area.
On his 2-day engagement with key stakeholders in Alkaleri local government, Bala Mohammed said that the community engagement was to afford him the opportunity to brief them on the successes recorded by his administration in its almost 3 years in power.
He said that, “I am in my local government area as part of community engagement that we are doing to foster security and of course communal relationship, inter relationship, and love so that those who identified with us”.
“This is a new system of government we are doing, we will not abandoned those who voted for us and we have a lot of burden of gratitude to God and to the people of Alkaleri, Bauchi and Nigeria in general. This 2 day engagement certainly is more than a year engagement”, he stressed.
On her part, the wife of the Governor, Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed assured women in the area that her husband would not relent in coming up with empowerment programmes geared towards improving their living conditions.
The First Lady reiterated that her Foundation will continue to engage women and youths in skills acquisition and empowerment programs in order to mitigate against poverty in the state.
All the stakeholders who spoke during the various sessions commended the Governor for embarking on developmental projects and programs saying that Bauchi is gradually taking its rightful position in the country urging the Governor to ensure that every segment of the state was touched.
