One of the governorship hopefuls in Akwa Ibom State, Obong Ide Owodiong-Idemeko, has said that ExxonMobil’s proposed sale of its assets and eventual exit from the state is good opportunity for indigenous firms and local business to grow.
It could be recalled that ExxonMobil had in a press release said it has reached an agreement to sell its equity interest in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy, a Nigerian independent oil and gas company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
But, the Akwa Ibom State Government unsettled by the pronouncement, had to enter a court case restraining Mobil from continuing with the proposed sale of its assets with the claims of a pending litigation between it and Mobil.
However, the governorship aspirant, who is an ex-staff of ExxonMobil, while fielding questions from journalists in Uyo on Monday, expressed pleasure that there were competent indigenous companies and businessmen in the position to benefit from the divestment opportunities.
He said, ”There could be a number of reasons the IOCs are divesting, it could be because of the return on capital investment, the challenges around operations, security issues, more prospects elsewhere and others.
“But more importantly, we should be happy that we have competent indigenous companies and business men in the position to benefit from the divestment opportunities.”
When asked of how he’ll reduce the debt profile of the state if eventually elected, Idemeko said that he would set up a diaspora fund to help in developing the state, noting that ‘governance is a continuum.”
