A former governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, has asked the Federal Government to invest in the local exploration and development of bitumen in the state to fight unemployment.
Daniel, who is the All Progressives Congress senatorial candidate for Ogun East in the 2023 elections, said local production of bitumen would further strengthen the drive by the Federal Government to diversify the nation’s economy.
The former governor spoke on Friday at Ojowo Ijebu-Ife during an empowerment and award of scholarships to indigent students in the Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, in Nigeria, Ijebu East Local Government has the largest deposit of bitumen, which is a crucial raw material used in road construction.
The former governor said his aspiration to go to the Senate was motivated by his desire to stimulate development at the grassroots.
He said, “This is where we have the largest bitumen deposits in Nigeria. We intend to appeal to the Federal Government to expend money for the development of bitumen in this area. Even if we do not have crude oil here, it is clear that we have bitumen.
“I, therefore, implore the Federal Government to invest in the exploration and development of bitumen industry in this Ijebu East Local Government. I’m saying whereas the governor is doing his best, we need to find a way of supporting him and other governors with the correct kind of legislation.”
Current statistics show that while Nigeria has a total bitumen reserve size of 42.74 billion metric tonnes that have remained unexploited for years, the country relies on importation for bitumen and other major road construction materials.
Speaking further, Daniel restated the imperative of activating the Local Government Autonomy Bill in order to make the nation’s third tier of government fully functional and accelerate the pace of development at the grassroots.
