Fred Obua, representing Ogbia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the construction of the Oloibiri Oil and Gas Museum and Research Centre, 64 years after the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in that town.

The symbolic project was recently launched by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, with the inauguration of key project committees and setting up of delivery timelines.

The lawmaker, in a statement, also commended Sylva for driving the project alongside key institutions like the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Shell Petroleum and Development Company (SPDC) and the Bayelsa State Government.

Obua noted that the deliberate timeline for the project, which includes eight months pre-construction activities and 36 months for the main construction from the date of commencement, further underscored the seriousness of the Buhari-led administration to deliver it in good time.

He particularly thanked Governor Douye Diri for his support of the project by agreeing to provide the enabling environment for its success and sustenance as well as 10 per cent of the project cost.

The lawmaker said that the governor’s commitment was a clear indication of his interest in developing the state, which he has placed far and above parochial and partisan consideration, maintaining that Diri’s strategic partnership with the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government is also a testament of his disposition to more collaboration and the fact that he places Bayelsa’s development first and not any political party, sectional or petty leanings.

Obua, who stated that the museum would equally give the people a sense of fulfilment, having yearned for it for over three decades and considering the general level of development that will envelop the area, especially communities within that axis, said that the project was one of the things he promised to pursue during his campaigns and as a first start, he had already sponsored a bill to that effect which was overwhelmingly supported.

He disclosed that the bill had already passed first and second readings in the House.

The lawmaker appealed to Buhari to also approve the construction of a dual carriageway from Yenagoa that will pass through Oloibiri and link the Ogbia/Nembe road, saying the road leading to the proposed site of the museum is currently in a deplorable state and as such not befitting.

He equally solicited for the provision of potable water, electricity and other forms of empowerment for people of the host communities, insisting that such interventions will help to facilitate the development of the area as envisioned by the people.