Chief Timipre Sylva, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has been awarded the Gas Decade personality award by the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria, OGTAN, courtesy of the Minister’s lead role in revolutionalising and opening up of the country’s gas sector.
Speaking at the award ceremony at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, on Monday, Valuechain gathered from the Minister’s media aide, Julius Gbokoru, the President of OGTAN, Dr. Mayowa Afe, praised Sylva’s dedication and innovation towards the Federal Government’s Gas initiatives and policies.
“We are here to acknowledge what you have done for this country. You have brought sanity to the Petroleum Industry, you have also declared Nigeria, on behalf of the President, a gas-based Nation.
“We have looked at all you have done for the country and we have decided to honour you. On behalf of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria we have come to say you have done very well”, the President of OGTAN concluded.
The association’s President was accompanied by key executives of OGTAN including Afolabi Davidson, the incoming Vice President and Chizoba Oduah, OGTAN’s manager.
Valuechain reports that in his acceptance remark, Sylva, Nigeria’s Gas Champion, found the award humbling: “We must begin to expand our gas capabilities, we must make gas exploration and utilization as a country deliberate.
“We must focus on gas, we must unlock our huge gas reserves as a way of diversifying the economy. I really appreciate this award and I promise that this will spur me to do even more for this country”, the minister inferred.
Valuechain recalls that Sylva was instrumental in kick-starting the National Gas Expansion Program, NGEP, the Autogas Policy, the 614KM Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano natural gas pipeline amongst other stellar gas achievements.