Eunice Nnachi
The government of Lesotho and Bayelsa State have held talks on areas of economic cooperation, including agriculture, oil and gas, tourism, cold water development and textile warehousing.
The bilateral meeting between the country’s Prime Minister, The Rt. Honourable Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane, and Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, took place on Sunday at the State House in Maseru, the capital city.
Governor Diri, who recalled an earlier meeting with Matekane in Abuja, Nigeria, said Bayelsa was interested in exploring areas of economic benefits, particularly where it had comparative advantages.
He said the state was rich in crude oil and very large gas deposits, in addition to having the longest coastline in the country that places it at a strategic position in the Gulf of Guinea.
Lesotho is one of the world’s smallest, landlocked nations located in Southern Africa and it is rich in diamond and a leader in cold water production and export as well as in textile production.
Governor Diri said: “I think this meeting was divinely orchestrated. The meeting in Abuja had so many other presidents and leaders, but at the end of the day, we were attracted to Lesotho, and Lesotho was equally attracted to us.
“Bayelsa was the first place in Nigeria where oil and gas was found in commercial quantities in 1956 by the British during colonial rule. So, Nigeria became an oil-producing country because of Bayelsa.
“My state is in the southern part of Nigeria, in the coastal area, and it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. We seek collaboration and partnership in oil and gas, on how to harness the vast resources in our coastal and maritime environment as well as in terms of tourism.”
Governor Diri also stated that Bayelsa was looking at exporting industrial starch from its cassava processing factory.
“Our cassava starch extraction factory is now functional and it was aimed for international exports. The local demand in Nigeria is so high. But our target is export.
“Rice production is another commodity that has possibility for collaboration. Bayelsa is a massive wetland and the entire state is a rice belt”, he said.
On inter-African trade, Diri noted that countries on the continent do business more with those outside the region and that it was time for this to change.
“I think there is a very big opening that is going to be mutually beneficial to both Lesotho and Nigeria, particularly Bayelsa State, from what has come on the table here. I agree with you no less that inter-country trade has been more with countries outside of Africa.
“But if African countries have this kind of meetings, we can begin to change the direction as the possibilities are there. We have not been able to explore them”, he added.
He said his administration was winding down and that both teams have to act fast to make the partnership a reality.
