By Isaac Olamikan

Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has assured the people of the Niger Delta region that he is interested in making life better for them.

Dr. Uduaghan, who is the senatorial flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Delta South in the 2019 polls, stated this in his Facebook page.

He averred that “about 6,000 illegal refineries, operational in the country, were reportedly destroyed by the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in 2015. Some of these ‘refineries’ were actually rickety ‘science projects’ being over-glorified by calling them ‘oil refineries.’

“So can a country that is trying hard to manage its four legal refineries afford to destroy ‘illegal refineries’?

“The poorly set up make-shift contraptions are dangerous and should be done away with, but those youths should be engaged in better set-up refineries.

“This is the origin of the call for the upgrade of the so-called ‘illegal refineries’, and if possible, they should be licensed. The illegal refineries that are being destroyed offer a lot of employment for the youths, which relieves government of the burden of providing jobs for them.”

Going further, he stated: “There has to be a rethink towards the ‘illegal refineries.’

“By and large, the illegal refineries are a testimony to the ingenuity of Nigerian youths and their ability to creatively innovate despite the challenges of their existence. The ingenuity that has been exhibited by the operators of the so called ‘illegal refineries’ should constitute the foundation of technological breakthrough.

“On arrival in the Senate as Senator representing Delta South
Senatorial District of Nigeria, my mandate include pushing for legislative backing to recognize and reform non-conventional refineries in the country instead of the present practice of destroying them.”

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