President Goodluck Jonathan declares Anambra as an oil producing State.

President Jonathan has designated Anambra to be an oil producing state. He made the designation yesterday during a working visit to the state.

The President was in the South-Eastern state to inaugurate the Anambra River Production Facility in Aguleri-Otu, owned by Orient Petroleum, a joint venture between the State government and private investors.

With the designation, Anambra joins the likes of other oil producing states such as Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Delta, Edo and Rivers.

President Jonathan remarked, “History is not just being made in Anambra State, but in the whole country. Orient has made a mark by partnering the government to come out with this revolution. This will give investors, both within and outside our country, the confidence to invest in our sedimentary basins.

“As a nation, we should not continue to think that we will be exporting crude materials. Our farm produce, we want to send them abroad in crude form; our crude oil, we send abroad. The people who add value to these products make more money than we do.”

“Those in the oil industry should not be thinking only about how to export crude oil; they should add value to the crude oil. Why can’t we export petroleum products to every part of the world? Why should we import petrol, kerosene, diesel and aviation kerosene or jet fuel when we are supposed to add value to our crude oil and export the refined products to make more money?”

Also speaking at the inauguration of the oil facility, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Chairman of Orient Petroleum and a former Secretary General to the Commonwealth said Nigeria could not continue to be one of the biggest importers of  crude oil.