“We’ll Turn Bayelsa State into a Top 5 Economy in Africa”… Economic Adviser

Press Release                                 
“We’ll turn Bayelsa State into a top 5 Economy in Africa”… Economic Adviser

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has again reiterated his unflinching resolve to enhance the fortunes of the state by embarking on big ticket investments and leveraging state owned entities to drive the restoration agenda.

The Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor, Mr Tamunoye Alazigha disclosed this in Yenagoa today in a strategy meeting with Managing Directors of state owned companies.

Mr Alazigha who is also the Deputy Managing Director of Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation assured that a new era of efficient resource use and value addition had dawned in the state with the coming on stream of the corporation.

He said the meeting with the companies was informed largely by the crying need to leverage these assets to reposition the state. “The state needs to generate more revenue and these revenues in turn needs to be optimal deployed to meet the needs of citizens. And this is what Governor Dickson is doing; bringing about socio-economic and infrastructural transformation to address our key developmental challenges,” he enthused

He noted that the BDIC was taking steps to collaborate with the companies in developing key sectors of the economy but was, however, quick to emphasize that it was expedient to start small and grow into a behemoth rather than taking up more than could be handled at the formative stages of any project.

He recounted that most business started small and focused on areas where they had comparative advantage.He said Bayelsa State has comparative advantages in a whole lot of sectors including tourism, Oil and Gas and Maritime but hinted that lack of proper harnessing of these resources had meant that revenues had been lost in the past.

Mr Alazigha asserted that the whole idea of vesting assets in the corporation was, therefore, to show value by embarking on biggest impact projects with lowest cost and highest profit margins, noting however, that for each unit of returns, “we have to measure the risk and take steps to mitigate it”“The people in the state, the living conditions and quality of life generally is of very great concern to the Governor.

The BDIC is the strategic enabler to grow the wealth of Bayelsans so that on the whole we can say with a certain degree of exactitude that life in Bayelsa is far better than what used to be. And this is what drives our passion to deliver the goods. We are extremely committed to touch lives positively.”

According to him, the era when the entities were mere conduit pipes through which monies were siphoned by previous administrations was over, adding that going forward, the administration of Gov Seriake Dickson through the BDIC would liase with the various heads to build creative capital that would eventually generate financial capital and add value to the state.

Earlier, the Managing Directors of the Companies had enumerated several challenges assailing them principal of which was the lack of take -off capital, huge outstanding liabilities and, of course, funding generally.Responding, the Deputy Managing Director charged the directors to be more proactive in their strategies in order to circumvent and surmount the challenges by constantly devising means of generating income.Under the new arrangement, the Corporation is to serve as a holding company for subsidiary entities.

The strategy meeting was convened by the BDIC to examine the status of the companies with a view to enabling it take strategic action plans aimed at repositioning the companies for efficient production and quality service delivery.

It had in attendance, the Managing Directors of Bayelsa Airlines, Cpt. Henry Ungbuku, Bayelsa Hotels and Tourism Development Company, Dr. Bribena who was represented by Head of Admin, Mr. Samuel Ikiba, Bayelsa Property and Investment Company, Mr. Azana Patrick Azazi and Mr. Morris Walson, a Board Member of Bayelsa Farms.

 It will be recalled that Bayelsa is 6.6% of Nigeria’s economy, the fourth largest, 3rd largest oil producer and 7th largest fish basket.   However, 92 % of its 2million population reside in the rural areas, underscoring the imperatives for rural infrastructural development.What is more, its GSP of N2.4 trillion or $18.5bn is large enough to attract the right kind of investors to catalyze development, as it is larger than the national and combined GDP of Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Cape Verde and Liberia.

Interestingly, among the 15 ECOWAS nations, only Ghana and Cote’d Voire have national GDPs larger than Bayelsa’s GSP.This clearly shows that the state occupies a key position in the emerging political economy of Africa and that the objective to translate it to a top 5 economy in Africa is not just political grandstanding or hocus pocus but is indeed, achievable if round pegs are put in round holes.

But this potential has been seriously threatened by the structural imbalances which require oil revenue (96% of GSP) to be remitted to the central government and distributed based on some whimsical fiscal parameters that put the state at a disadvantaged position.

And this is why the Governor sought for and got a seasoned investment banker like Tamunoye Alazigha who has in his kitty over 19 years of experience in financial management at JP Morgan Chase, US Trust Bank of America, and BGL to pilot the affairs of the corporation.

Indeed, the state has several investment potentials waiting to be harnessed in tourism and hospitality, agriculture, aquaculture, oil and Gas, power, mineral deposits and infrastructure.

And the challenge in the form of lack of indigenous skilled manpower and harsh geographical terrain, according to the Chief Economic Adviser, only represent opportunities for growth and investment.But the absence of a focused, visionary, ambitious and charismatic leadership in the past has meant that over the years these potentials had been left largely untapped.

Today, however, a new Bayelsa is emerging. The story is beginning to be different.Already, the BDIC has been instrumental in jumpstarting and leapfrogging the economy by attracting core investors into critical sectors like hospitality and tourism, agriculture and aviation, health and energy to mention but a few.  

Signed:  Famous Obebi Famous
Special Assistant (Media) to the Chief Economic Adviser