YENAGOA, BAYELSA — Naijaonpointhas received a statement from Mr. Nathaniel Michael Goodnews, former Vice President of the Ogbia Brotherhood Youth Council and Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman on Security Matters, Ogbia LGA, describing the arrival of the 200-tonne, 210-foot Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) for the Azikel Refinery as a landmark moment for Bayelsa, the Niger Delta and the Ijaw Nation.
Goodnews said the CDU’s journey was remarkable, noting that it travelled from North Korea by land and sea for approximately five months before arriving in Nigeria and reaching Bayelsa.
He described the development as particularly significant because the refinery is being built by an Ogbia son and located in Bayelsa State, where Nigeria’s commercial oil story began in 1956, saying the milestone represents a new chapter in the region’s relationship with its natural resources.
“From the soil where Nigeria’s oil journey began, we are now witnessing the rise of an industry capable of transforming crude from a raw export into refined value, local enterprise and economic opportunity,” he said.
Goodnews commended Dr. Azibapu Eruani and the Azikel Group, describing the refinery as an important industrial investment with an initial processing capacity of 25,000 barrels per day, and potential for future expansion.
He said the project demonstrates what can be achieved through “vision, patience, capital, engineering expertise and uncommon determination,” while stressing its potential to create jobs, develop technical skills, strengthen local enterprise and expand industrial capacity in Bayelsa and the Niger Delta.
The former Ogbia youth leader also urged young people to embrace development and productive enterprise.
“Do not destroy what you did not build. Do not become enemies of your own progress. Protect development, support legitimate enterprise, demand accountability, but also learn to build,” he said.
He congratulated the Azikel Group, Dr. Eruani, the Eruani family, the people of Emadike, Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa State and the wider Niger Delta on the milestone, while noting that the arrival of the CDU is “not the end of the journey, but a beginning.”
Goodnews concluded: “The dream has become steel. The steel has arrived in Bayelsa. Now, let the steel become prosperity.”