Frontline Niger Delta leader, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, has commended the massive industrial development represented by the Azikel Refinery in Bayelsa State, describing the President of Azikel Group, Dr. Eruani Azibapu, CFR, as a leading force in the emerging industrialisation of the Niger Delta.
Tompolo made the remarks after an extensive tour of the refinery’s facilities, where he expressed admiration for the scale, sophistication and strategic significance of the project.
Visibly impressed by the development, Tompolo described Dr. Eruani as “a leader of the new industrialisation of the Niger Delta, the South-South and Nigeria.”
He said the Azikel Refinery, with a processing capacity of 25,000 barrels per day and an investment estimated at $1 billion, represents a significant indigenous industrial development in Bayelsa State and the wider Niger Delta region.
According to him, the refinery demonstrates the possibility of moving the Niger Delta beyond its traditional role as a major producer of crude oil to becoming a hub for the processing, refining and transformation of the region’s natural resources into higher-value products.
The refinery is designed to process condensate and crude oil into products including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, heavy fuel oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Tompolo said the project offered a new and positive narrative for the Niger Delta, anchored on industrialisation, employment generation, wealth creation, indigenous participation and value addition to Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
He commended Dr. Eruani’s entrepreneurial vision, courage and determination, stressing that investments of such magnitude could stimulate broader industrial development across Bayelsa State, the South-South and Nigeria.
“This is a magnificent indigenous investment emerging from Bayelsa and the Niger Delta. It demonstrates what is possible when our people invest in processing and adding value to the resources from our region,” he said.
Tompolo further noted that the refinery’s development could create significant economic opportunities while strengthening Nigeria’s domestic refining capacity and reducing dependence on imported petroleum products.
“I am proud of this industrial development that Dr. Eruani Azibapu, CFR, has ignited here in Bayelsa, the Niger Delta, the South-South states and Nigeria. This is the kind of development that creates employment, generates wealth and adds value to our crude oil resources,” Tompolo said.
The visit, highlighted the growing significance of Azikel Refinery as an indigenous industrial project and a potential catalyst for economic transformation in Bayelsa State and the wider Niger Delta.
