President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to spearhead the ground-breaking ceremony of the first oil drill in the Bauchi and Gombe States oil fields this week.
OsunDaily News understands that the Northern region will have its first oil drilling sites after two years since the resources were discovered at the locations in commercial volume.
Buhari, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, and other top government officials are expected to grace the occasion of the Kolmani Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani field site scheduled on Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
While Nigeria is already exploring crude oil in the southern Niger Delta, this exploration up north will be the first after an attempt in the Borno region was thwarted by insurgency.
It could be recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, in 2016, launched a search for oil in some Northern states which led to the discovery of the oil in commercial quantity in Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Niger States.
During the weekend, an official of the NNPC Ltd told Daily Trust that the oil field in Bauchi and Gombe axis would be developed by Sterling Global Oil, New Nigeria Development Commission (NNDC) and NNPC Limited.
“The ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 22nd November and will be attended by Mr President himself together with most of his cabinet members, including the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva,” said the official who confided in the news platform.
On Friday, some hoodlums’ attempt to burn down the Ekiti State House of Assembly was foiled by the state Police Command.
OsunDaily News learned that some unidentified men numbering about 10 scaled the fence of the Assembly at about 4 am last Friday in an attempt to set the government facility ablaze.
However, operatives of the Police Rapid Response Squad who were on duty at the assembly complex repelled the attempted attack by the arsonists.
Confirming the attempted attack in a statement, the spokesman of the state police command, Sunday Abutu, said the hoodlums arrived at the scene with two 25-liter kegs of petrol to burn down the assembly.
He added that the arsonists, who came with cutlasses and other weapons, were chased by police officers into the bush and the two kegs filled with petrol were recovered from them.
Abutu said that the police had not arrested anyone concerning the attempted arson attack, adding that the law enforcement agents were on their trail.
He said, “I can confirm to you that the hoodlums carrying two kegs filled with petrol and also armed with cutlasses and other weapons came to burn down the Assembly in the wee hours of today (Friday).
“They thought that police, deployed to the Assembly since Wednesday had left the place because our patrol vehicles had been withdrawn from the two gates. They thought the place was no longer under security cover. They came through a section of the complex but were resisted.
“The operatives of the RRS gave them a hot chase into the bush and recovered two kegs filled with petrol from them, among other dangerous exhibits. We want to warn our people not to turn the Assembly into a theatre of war.
“It is an arm of government that must be respected, so people should desist from creating any unnecessary crisis. Let me also say that our men and officers are on the ground to repel any dangerous moves being made by mischief makers to spark up trouble in any part of the state.”
