Senate President Godswill Akpabio has called on the Niger Delta youths to shun crime and imbibe the spirit of intellectual persuasion in the pursuit of progress.

Mr Akpabio made his remark at a two-day Niger Delta Oil and Gas Investment and Security summit, which commenced on August 29 and ended on August 30 in Calabar, on Saturday.

The summit was themed, “Constructive Engagement for the Protection of Oil and Gas Assets and Supporting Institutions to Drive Implementation of Extent Laws to Deepen Local Content Realisation.”

The Senate president was represented by Benson Agadaga, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Oil and Gas Host Communities.

Mr Akpabio said the people of the Niger Delta should be known for their intellectual engagement to get things right and not just lamentation and agitation.

He said that it was through such a summit that ideas were shared to enable them to move forward, develop their environment, and build their communities.

Mr Akpabio added that the laws were there, but that the people of the region must rise to give life to them.

‘’It is a thing of joy that we now have the Petroleum Industry Act, which specifies many functions for us,” he said.

Mr Akpabio said the Local Content Act and the Environmental Content Development and Monitoring Act provisions could be taken advantage of by the people for their progress.

He urged the people to not only take advantage of the provisions but to take the bull by the horns and invest in the oil and gas industry.

On his part, Ekpirikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Gas, highlighted the various federal government investments in the oil and gas sector, including the gas-to-methanol plant in Bayelsa.

Represented by his Senior Technical Advisor, Abel Nsa, Mr Ekpo noted that Cross River was strategically located to attract methanol projects.

The minister explained that developing a methanol plant in the state would create jobs and promote technology transfer.

Mr Ekpo said that Cross River had enormous gas export potential due to the Eastern Horizon Pipeline.

He explained that gas was being transported from Akwa Ibom through a valve station connected to the Obigbo-Aba line to Cross River, terminating at UniCem, a factory in Mfamosin in Cross River.

Mr Ekpo, however, stated that all those opportunities depended on securing the nation’s assets.

He added that oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and sabotage threatened revenue and investors’ confidence.

Chinedu Ogwus, a member of the International Society of Petroleum Engineers, said the challenges in the Niger Delta were caused by poor leadership and the justice system in the nation.

Mr Ogwus said the nation could drastically reduce the insecurity in the region by simply investing in technology and the youth to keep them busy.

(NAN)