By Godswill Odiong
The oil and gas communities have been urged to make presentations and build consensus, targeted at ensuring that their demands are reflected in the nation’s Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.
Speaking at the just-concluded virtual engagement organized by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com targeted at increasing awareness, the Executive Director, SPACES FOR CHANGE, S4C, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, who was the Guest speaker, said: “We have been engaging host communities since 2012 and encouraged them to come forward and participate in the legislative deliberations. They have done just that. Also, Niger Delta states also came forward to make presentations at the public hearing, making specific demands.
“What is now needed is consensus-building to articulate and table their issues in a compelling and unified manner. Host communities need to engage the NASS beyond the public hearing. It’s now time for the political leaders in the region to take positive steps in this direction.”
She said: “The major problems needing utmost attention include the fiscal terms agreeable to both sides (govt and operators); duplicative regulation, weak enforcement of standards, overlapping regulatory powers, hostility between operators and host communities, political interference in NNPC operations and so forth. With the April date for passage, we can only hope lawmakers will do the right thing by addressing these cogent issues.”
– Use the link below to read the full discourse
PIB: Many Promises, Failures & Implications on Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Industry
