The Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has appealed to the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) not to relocate its corporate headquarters from Port Harcourt.
In a statement in Abuja on Thursday by the D-G’s media team, Peterside admonished SPDC to have a rethink about the planned relocation of its head office to Lagos.
He said the Federal Government was making concerted efforts to tame insecurity in Rivers.
Peterside’s appeal came as the Rivers Attorney-General, Emmanuel Aguma, petitioned the Senate over the “planned relocation” of SPDC headquarters from Port Harcourt to Lagos State.
He said that if the petition of Rivers State Government against Shell was true, then it would portend grave consequences for the state that had been embroiled in all manner of needless controversies.
“It took political brinkmanship to bring SPDC headquarters to Rivers State. For long, we warned Gov. Nyesom Wike about his utterances and actions.
“We admonished him to rise to statesmanship and govern the state like a man ready for the job. His actions have fuelled unnecessary tension in the state, with many people killed.
“How can the governor of the state be raising false alarm everyday that there are plans to assassinate him? What kind of message is he sending out?”
Peterside disclosed that he would cooperate with relevant stakeholders within and outside Rivers to put pressure on Shell not to move its headquarters to Lagos.
“Already the Federal Government has signed an agreement with Italian firm, Eni, to refurbish the Port Harcourt Refinery.
“The Lagos-Calabar rail line will soon come on stream. We need all the investments we can get so our state can develop.
Sen. George Sekibo had on Wednesday prayed the Senate to investigate reasons behind the plans to move the Anglo-Dutch giant to Lagos.
Sekibo had said Shell’s planned action might spark off a security crisis in Port Harcourt.
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