The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) exploration team has arrived Benue State to start the search for oil and gas in the Benue trough. The team is expected to acquire seismic data that would guide it in deciding the next stage of the exploratory work in the state, The Nation reports

Welcoming the team to Benue People’s House, Makurdi, yesterday, the state’s acting Governor, Engr Benson Abounu expressed joy that the NNPC was set to begin the exploratory work in the state, having finished work on the Nasarawa State end of the trough. He assured the team led by the Group General Manager, Frontier Services, NNPC, Dr. Mazadu Bako, that the state government and the Benue people will do all that is possible to give them the conducive atmosphere within which to operate without hindrance.

Engr Abounu said the security challenges in the state arising from herdsmen attacks notwithstanding, the state government will not allow anything to hinder the progress of the exploration work. To achieve that, he announced the setting up of a committee headed by the Secretary to State Government to work together with the team, as well as with the security agencies to ensure a hitch-free operation of the exploratory work.

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