By Thompson Yamput
Kogi Governor, Alhaji Usman Ododo on Thursday sought for synergy with Federal Government on oil exploration toward accelerating investment for growth and development.
Ododo, in a statement issued in Lokoja by his Media Aide, Ismaila Isah, made the call during a working visit to the minister of state Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, in Abuja.
The governor said that his administration was committed to providing the enabling environment for investors and their investments in the exploration of crude oil resources in the state.
“I wish to assure of our willingness as a state government to cooperate with the federal government to ensure that oil exploration in the state comes on stream in line with the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pursue oil exploration in the frontier basins in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, the minister of state petroleum resources (oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, reaffirmed the status of Kogi as an oil producing state.
Lokpobiri pledged the commitment of the federal government towards mobilizing investments to explore the huge crude oil deposits in Kogi.
He said the Petroleum Industry Act mandates the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to explore frontier basins.
The minister pledged the federal government’s determination to deploy funds to unlock new discoveries and exploration of oil in Nigeria.
“I must commend you for your giant strides in providing good governance to the people of the state, ” he said .
However, Kogi became the first oil producing state in Northern Nigeria following the affirmation of the discovery of oil in commercial quantities by the federal government in 2022.
