Niger Delta Chieftain, Chief Dennis Otuaro has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
Chief Otuaro, who is the Ibe-Uyadonwei of Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri spoke in Warri in reaction to the ministerial appointments of President Buhari, which according to him should set the country on the path of achieving growth in the country’s economy and bring succour to the generality of Nigerians.
Congratulating the former governor on the appointment, Otuaro said Sylva’s appointment showed the sincerity of the Buhari-led administration in revamping the petroleum sector, describing it as a blast of fresh air for the petroleum ministry.
Expressing confidence that Sylva would hit the ground running, Otuaro said the terrain was only one that was well familiar with the former Bayelsa State number one citizen, having once served as Senior Special Assistant to Edmund Daukoru, who was the Minister of State for Energy and Petroleum Resources, between July 2005 and May 2007.
It will be recalled that Sylva was instrumental in formulating and initiating policies that finally birthed the Federal Government’s Amnesty Programme for militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region which, to a large extent has restored peace in the once volatile region.
Against the backdrop of the petroleum ministry’s importance in the drive to achieve economic stability, Otuaro averred thus; “Sylva’s appointment is a step in the right direction for the petroleum industry, as only round pegs in round holes would ensure the kind of results the economy of the country demands”.
The achievements of Sylva speak volumes of his administrative sagacity, and even though the task before him in assisting the president revamp and re-position the country’s major income earner is an enormous one.
Otuaro habours no doubt the man is well qualified for the job given his impressive antecedents.
“It is an honor well deserved for Chief Timipere Sylva, who is well versed with the labyrinths of the political waters of the petroleum sector and its strategic relevance to growth and development of the country’s economy,” Otuaro enthused.
During a welcome ceremony held in his honor at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, Sylva emphasized his commitment to the tenets of good and purposeful governance and administration, and pointed that with the calibre of professionals in the workforce of the ministry, he was sure the country’s oil and gas sector would in no time be on solid footing.
Assuring Nigerians of his intent in charting a way forward for the Nigerian petroleum sector, Sylva said he would synergise with experts at the NNPC, other agencies and departments under the ministry to move the sector forward.