Akwa
Ibom State Commissioner for information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah
says Governor Godswill Akpabio did not ask for the relocation of the
headquarters of Totalfina Elf Oil Company to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital,
during the visit by the Consul General of the French Embassy, Mr. Francis
Sastourne, as reported in the media.
According to a statement issued from
his office, Mr. Aniekan said, what the Governor said during the Gala Night in
honour of Mr. Sastourne was that “Totalfina Elf Company should have some kind
of presence or a liaison office in Akwa Ibom, given the fact that it has robust
drilling activities in Akwa Ibom territorial waters.”
Noting that the
decision on the siting of headquarters of oil companies in the country is the
prerogative of the Federal Government, through the joint partnership it holds
with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Umanah maintained that “His
Excellency, Governor Akpabio did not call for the siting of the headquarters of
Totalfina-Elf in Akwa Ibom State in the said forum or in any other forum.”
He however said, Chief
Akpabio, who was grossly misquoted in media reports, “has consistently
maintained that it was not logical for a company doing business in Akwa Ibom
not to have a presence in Akwa Ibom.”
The Commissioner
stressed the fact that “Totalfina-Elf needs such a presence in its host
community to be able to quickly respond to, and handle such calamities like oil
spills and other problems associated with oil drilling.” “A liaison office
would help Totalfina-Elf to understand its social environment better and to
maintain a good relationship with its host communities.” He added.
Expressing sadness over
the grave errors in the media reports, Mr. Umanah urged journalists “to
exercise the famed commitment of the media to social responsibility and truth
in correcting these misrepresentations.”
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