Yenagoa—The Wabise Development Advocacy Initiative has felicitated the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva on his 58th birthday anniversary.
The group described Sylva, who is their Grand Patron, as a valuable technocrat, distinguished administrator and exemplary leader who has displayed an uncommon leadership style.
In a felicitation message by its national president, Dr. Tony Johnson, the group noted that as development enthusiasts, they identify with Sylva’s strides and landmark implementation of people-oriented projects for the upliftment of society.
The group averred that the Bayelsa-born politician deserves to be celebrated, noting that his sojourn in politics typifies that of a game-changer who lives and leads selflessly.
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“He served at various times as the Executive Governor of Bayelsa state, member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Special Adviser to the Bayelsa State Governor, as well as Special Assistant to HRM Edmund Daukoru, who was the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources in 2003.
“As governor of Bayelsa State, his impact on the state has remained unprecedented and unparalleled such that his name alone rings a bell in the ears of indigenes, young and old,” the message reads.
The group recalled how the former governor, while in office, commissioned laudable projects and ensured that the people felt the impact of governance in different sectors.
They noted how in his current role, he mapped out priority areas that include curbing petroleum products cross-border leakages and completing the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme.
According to the group, “Sylva also reduced the current cost of crude oil production, promoted the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), promoted Inland basin exploration activities, promoted deep offshore exploration activities and collaborated with the private sector to increase domestic refining capacity.”
The group reckoned that the Minister has been working assiduously to support President Buhari in his poise to achieving his target of raising millions of Nigerians out of poverty via job creation.
They highlighted some of his achievements including the galvanizing of the oil industry to donate over N20 Billion to fight Covid-19 and the inauguration of the National Gas Expansion Programme.
Others are the flag-off of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project, the actualization of FID for the NLNG Train 7 project, and the rollout of the Presidential Autogas Initiative, amongst others.
