After Fanfare, APC Govt Abandons Oloibiri Oil Museum Project • Proposed Site Overtaken by Weeds • Sylva Silent
2 min read
Overgrown weeds, flooded grounds and decaying signposts are now the common features at the site of the proposed Oloibiri Oil Museum Research Project, as the federal government of APC has abandoned the project after the fanfare that greeted the ground-breaking.
In February this year, the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, through the then Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, had flagged off the project with promises of its commitment to develop Oloibiri, where oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in the country.
Sylva is from the same senatorial district where the project is located. On the ground-breaking day, hopes were high that the museum project would become a reality at last. Sylva, who spoke on behalf of Buhari, had charged the contractors to ensure that the project was delivered on time and based on agreed timelines.
He had said: “I hereby direct the lead contractors of both projects, Julius Berger and the MegaStar Technical and Construction Company Limited to integrate the host communities and their traditional institutions and skilled youths in the various scopes of the projects.”
But nine months after the epoch making event, instead of the structure showing up as was seen in the prototype pictures, weeds have now taken over the entire place, an apparent indication that the government may not have been prepared to undertake the project
When TNN visited the project site during the weekend, what was seen was the gory site of overgrown weeds and the insignia of Julius Berger, the construction firm that was supposed to have handled the project.
It was not clear why the project has not commenced, seven months after. From the site, TNN sent a message to Sylva to find out what may have gone wrong, but he did not respond.
A similar message was dropped for him on Monday, but he still did not respond to the questions.
