By Hassan Hussain
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Chairman in Cross River State, Hon. Yibala Igri Inyang, has described Governor Bassey Otu’s oil and gas skills training for 2,000 youths as a major step towards unlocking the state’s blue economy potential.
The programme, tagged “Skill Up in the Season of Sweetness,” was recently flagged off by the Governor, represented by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem.
The training provides CPD-accredited certificate and diploma programmes for beneficiaries drawn from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
Hon. Inyang, who is also Chairman of Yakurr Local Government Area, said the initiative would equip Cross River youths with the skills required to participate meaningfully in the oil and gas and maritime sectors.
He described the programme as a proactive measure towards the anticipated expansion of oil and gas activities in the state, stressing that Cross River’s coastline, estuaries and maritime resources provide significant opportunities for a blue economy.
He recalled the 2012 Supreme Court judgment which ceded 76 offshore oil wells following the loss of Bakassi, saying the development affected the state’s expected revenue from the 13 percent derivation and stalled plans for the Bakassi Deep Seaport.
Hon. Inyang, however, maintained that the development did not erase Cross River’s geographical features, including its Atlantic coastline, estuaries and access to the Bight of Bonny.
He listed the strategic location of the Eastern Naval Command in Calabar, the Cross River Estuary and Calabar River system, as well as the state’s proximity to the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport, as some of its maritime assets.
The ALGON Chairman also called for continued scientific verification of the state’s littoral and oil-producing status by relevant federal agencies, including the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.
Hon. Inyang said the training of 2,000 youths would prepare Cross Riverians to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the oil and gas industry, while pledging the support of the 18 Local Government Chairmen for Governor Otu’s People-First agenda.
