The Bayelsa Government has requested an equity stake in the $3.5 billion Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company project set to commence on Brass Island in the state.
Governor Douye Diri made the appeal on Tuesday when the management team of the company paid him a courtesy visit in Yenagoa.
Diri said the demand became necessary given the exclusion of oil-producing states and local governments in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which he described as a major flaw causing unrest in host communities.
“The federal government now interacts directly with the communities, and that is an affront on the Nigerian Constitution. The Constitution vests land in the state government and recognises communities as being under the local and state governments. These anomalies in the PIA have made the law a time bomb,” he said.
The governor urged the company to avoid such pitfalls by working with the state to ensure peace and balance in host communities. He commended President Bola Tinubu for reviving the project, noting that it was first conceptualised in 2009 but had suffered setbacks until now.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company, Chief Ben Okoye, said construction would begin in October. He explained that the project, which will produce 10,000 metric tonnes of methanol daily, had been delayed due to unresolved gas supply agreements.
Okoye disclosed that President Tinubu directed the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) last October to fast-track the process, leading to the signing of the gas agreement in January. He added that the ongoing Nembe–Brass road, constructed by the Bayelsa Government, would save the company up to $100,000 in logistics costs.
The Project Coordinator, Mr. Cyril Akika, said the project would create over 15,000 jobs during construction and 5,000 permanent jobs thereafter. He added that it would also boost tax revenues, royalties, internally generated revenue, and Bayelsa SMEs, while positioning the Brass Free Zone as a global petrochemical hub.
According to him, the project will also provide community infrastructure, a logistics base, a port, jetty facilities, and a 300MW gas-fired power plant to enhance energy security.
