BY SAM DUVWODE
Delta State Governor, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa has called on the National Assembly Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill, (PIB) to enact a legislation that will encourage host Communities participation in the industry in the interest of peace, fairness, equity and justice.
Governor Okowa made the call yesterday at the Governor’s Annex, Warri during the Town Hall meeting of National Assembly Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill and Host Communities in Delta State.
The governor who was represented by his Deputy, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro, said the visit and meeting by the committee on PIB was most apt and timely, adding that, host communities have long been yearning for the passage of the PIB which will enable them fully benefit from their God given natural resources.
He noted that various host communities in Delta State that are endowed with abundant hydrocarbon and rich deposit of oil wells and gas, have been subjected to suffer a lot of environmental degradation and challenges as a result of activities of oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
According to him; “Aquatic lives and farm land have been adversely affected. Natural gas is still being flared with a lot of health hazard to the host communities. To worsen the situation, some oil companies have not lived up to their expectation in terms of corporal social responsibility and this have resulted in agitation, demands and protest against oil companies operating in the State”. Gov. Okowa Stated.
The governor who urge the people to take advantage of the opportunity to present their concerns to the committee, commended the committee for their visit and appealed to them to do justice to their request.
The Co-Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill, (PIB) Rt. Hon. Muhammad Mongono, in his remark during the interactive session with the relevant stakeholder of the various ethnic nationalities, said the committee support the views and positions vanvass by the host communities.
The Committee Co-Chairman, Rt. Hon. Mohammed Mungono said the clamour for development by the communities is justified and an equity share of more than 5% will be proposed in the Petroleum Industry Bill before the national Assembly.
According to him” This time around, there is a commitment on the part of NASS to make sure the bill is passed, this is borne out of the fact that amendments of our laws concerning oil and gas industries are long overdue”.
“For Nigeria to remain relevant and competitive within the oil industry and for the fact that, the world is moving away from fuel to renewable energy, it became an issue of great concern to accelerate the quick passage of the bill.” Hon. Mongono said.
Representatives from Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Isoko, Ika and Ndokwa ethnic nationality as well as HOSTCOM, PANDEF and Local Content Agency decried the level of degradation in their various communities.
They noted that, the Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 in its present form in relation to host communities’ development does not promote or enhance any of the aforementioned objectives. It would neither promote peace and order nor good governance in the oil producing communities.
Among other demands which include; that, host communities should be given legal backing by the PIB to be in charge of the surveillance of oil facilities within the territory of their communities. And As presently practiced under the GMOU model, the PIB should create an additional fund known as bonus incentive, the Host communities call for an increase of the annual contribution of its actual operating cost into the host communities development trust for the development of the host communities from 2.5% to 10%.