Buhari meets Obiano, Akeredolu in Aso Rock

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met separately with the Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.

The meetings took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Emerging from the meeting, Obiano told State House Correspondents he wanted  the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure impartial conduct of the November 18 Governorship election in the state

He assured that all the necessary measures were being taken to guarantee a peaceful election and dismissed insinuation that his party All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), plans to rig the elections.

However, Obiano expressed optimism that he will be re-elected at the end of the day with a landslide.

He said: “Anambra remains the safest state in Nigeria today; we don’t have cases of kidnapping, armed robbery or similar crimes. We have been firmly in control of that state and will continue to do so throughout my tenure as Governor.

“I’m very confident that I will win the forthcoming election with a landslide. All we want is for the empire to be unbiased. A free and fair election is what we want and we will get the result.”

Governor Obiano said he had a very fruitful meeting with President Buhari, adding that the President likes Governors who are delivering dividends of democracy to their people.

“He likes Governors who work hard, who are delivering what people can see and are delivering dividends of democracy to their people. That is what the President wants,” he stated.

Also speaking to newsmen at the end of their meeting with the president, Akeredolu and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi said they discussed issues germane to mineral resources development particularly the need to build a deep sea port in Ondo State.

Akeredolu said that the seaport in Ondo will contribute immensely to the export of mineral resources which he observed is in large number in the state.

According to him, “We are asking that the country takes advantage of the natural resources in Ondo state and we have a seaport that is very germane to our export activities, in particular our mineral deposits which we have in large number and then we need to have a deep sea manning port and Ondo state is well suited for it.

“So, we impressed this on Mr President on what we believe it will be a lasting legacy if we are able to accomplish it in his own time.”

On the volume of mineral resources that the state was currently exporting through other ports necessitating own port, he said: “You just look at the volume of natural resources that we are exporting through any port in Nigeria. The total volume which is still not so high. The moment it gets high, we will need a deep seaport where we will even have a modern ship berth.

“We do not have anywhere in this country today where big ship can berth, not in Lagos or Calabar. That is why what you see is that so many of the ships will berth in the high sea while the smaller ones will be used to take the goods there or bring the goods from the ship.

“And that is why we need a deep seaport where the biggest ship in the world can birth and that is Ondo state.”

In his remark, observed that the future of the country’s diversification lies in solid minerals especially with countries planning to jettison the use of fuel for batteries in vehicles in 20 years from now.

He added: “The deep seaport is really not for now. It is about the future. We are emphasizing solid minerals development as a vehicle for diversification, an agenda of Mr President, if we look at what role that will play in the future and the entire non-oil sector.

“Now, we about talking about our oil wealth going down. At the same time, we are talking that other countries are talking about manufacturing cars that will not use fuel in the next two decades.

What will these cars be using?

“If you look at the Tesla vehicles out there now, they are all battery powered and where will the battery power come from? It will come from lead, lithium, cobalt. These are things that we have in abundant in Nigeria.

“So, although we may lose out on oil, it doesn’t mean is a zero sum gain. We may be gaining other things which Mr President is keen on.

“Mineral resources have contributed significantly to the GDP and revenue. This year alone we have exceeded the target given to us.

“If you look at the Bureau of Statistics report, you will see that the two sectors that have contributed immensely to the GDP are agriculture and solid minerals.”

The minister revealed that he also gave an update on Ajaokuta Steel Company and the Aluminum Smelting Company in Ikot Abasi, saying: “The president asked for an update on Ajaokuta and the Aluminum Smelting Company in Ikot Abasi. I came to brief Mr President on the development to ensure these companies are back to life.

“I told him about the efforts that Mr Vice President has been leading on ensuring that we have a definitive solution to the sale of Aluminum Smelting Company in Ikot Abasi, and that we also move forward in the resolution and agreement reached on Ajaokuta Steel so that we get ready for the second concessioning.