Diri, who reacted to the issue publicly for the first time amid the controversy it had generated in recent times, expressed shock over Federal Government’s revocation of the oil field. He said the marginal oil field remained the state’s prized asset to which it was sentimentally attached and urged the Federal Government to reconsider its decision on the matter. “We kept silent over the issue of the Bayelsa State-owned Atala Oil Field, because we needed to have all the information that led to the revocation of its licence. x“So, our position on Atala Oil Field is that it is a prized asset of Bayelsa State and that revocation should be reversed. We have said so unequivocally and we believe that those in authority would see why we are emotionally attached to the oil field,” he stressed.

Source: The Guardian July 15, 2021 03:45 UTC