The Paramount Ruler of Obunagha community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, HRH Yeseibo Peremobowei, has appealed to the Federal Government to urgently intervene to save a multi-billion-naira lubricant and chemicals blending plant from being destroyed by severe coastal erosion.
The monarch warned that the worsening erosion, which has already swallowed a major section of the Eraskon Lubricant/Chemicals Blending Plant, is threatening a project expected to create more than 1,200 jobs and boost Nigeria’s local manufacturing capacity.
Speaking during an inspection of the devastated facility alongside the member representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Oboku Oforji, and Chairman of Erasko Group, Maxwell Oko, the traditional ruler lamented that the community’s hopes of benefiting from the project had been dashed by the environmental disaster.
He said residents had welcomed the siting of the industrial plant because of its immense economic prospects, but expressed sadness that the investment was now on the brink of collapse.
“We were very happy when this gigantic project was brought to our community because of the enormous benefits it would bring to our people,” the monarch said.
“But today, we are deeply saddened because erosion has become a serious threat. A massive factory building has already been washed into the river, and the erosion is fast approaching the two storage tanks. Both the Federal and Bayelsa State governments must act urgently to save this laudable investment.”
He urged the authorities to engage erosion control experts to halt the advancing shoreline before the remaining infrastructure is destroyed.
The project, initiated in 2022, was conceived to deepen Nigeria’s industrial base, strengthen local content, reduce dependence on imported lubricants and packaging materials, and create 200 direct jobs alongside more than 1,000 indirect employment opportunities across logistics, engineering, transportation, maintenance, security, packaging and raw material supply.
When completed, the facility is expected to produce up to 128,000 litres of lubricants and industrial chemicals daily, including engine oils, hydraulic oils, brake fluids, radiator coolants, gear oils, marine lubricants and synthetic lubricants.
During the inspection, Oforji described the level of destruction as alarming, noting that a significant portion of the project site had already been claimed by erosion, forcing the company to dismantle completed structures.
He said the project represented a major investment that would generate employment, improve security and increase revenue for both the Federal and Bayelsa State governments.
Commending Erasko Group for embarking on what he described as a capital-intensive indigenous investment, the lawmaker pledged to raise the matter before the House of Representatives.
According to him, he would sponsor a motion calling on the Federal Government to release ecological funds for immediate intervention to protect the facility.
“This project is too strategic to be abandoned. The Federal Government and the Bayelsa State Government must treat this as a matter of urgent public importance because protecting this investment means protecting jobs, revenue and the future of Bayelsa,” Oforji said.
He assured the company that he would press for urgent parliamentary action to secure federal intervention and preserve the investment from further destruction.
Chairman of Erasko Group, Maxwell Oko, disclosed that the project, located on a 45-hectare site, had attained about 90 per cent completion and was scheduled for commissioning in 2022 before the erosion crisis halted construction.
He revealed that a factory building that had reached about 85 per cent completion was completely washed away by the advancing river, while the twin two-million-litre storage tanks are now under imminent threat.
Oko also lamented that more than 30 containers of processing equipment remain uninstalled because erosion destroyed the steel sheet piles supporting the project.
He estimated that the delay had denied the company over ₦500 billion in projected revenue that would have accrued if the plant had commenced operations as planned.
“As you can see, the erosion destroyed our protective structures, swept away our factory building and has continued to encroach on the facility. We had no choice but to dismantle part of the remaining structure to prevent further losses,” he said.
The Eraskon Lubricant/Chemicals Blending Plant is regarded as one of the largest indigenous lubricant manufacturing projects in the Niger Delta and was expected to significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum products while expanding local industrial production.
