Niger Delta Group Appeals To Northern Govs To Back PIB

HOPE for Niger Delta Campaign  (HNDC) has appealed to the Northern Governors’ Forum to rescind its opposition to the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly.

HNDC, based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, has also urged the Federal Government to muster political will to fully implement recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland presented to President Jonathan in August 2010.

The executive director of HNDC, Comrade Sunny Ofehe, told The Guardian Saturday that Nigerians in the Diaspora have continued to receive with dismay disturbing news of the rancorous North/South dichotomy resulting from the PIB before the National Assembly.

Ofehe said he wonders why some group of persons or institution would oppose passage of the PIB, knowing that this bill when passed would improve operations of the oil and gas industry in the Niger Delta.

“This is a bill that sets up provision for a functional institutional framework that will regulate the country’s oil and gas industry. We must not forget that the nation still rely 98 per cent on oil and gas from the Niger Delta as the major source of foreign revenue generation for the country. This is why HNDC finds the claim by the North that they are against the further 10 per cent equity share for oil producing communities in the Niger Delta region disturbing,” said Ofehe.

He urged the Northern Governors’ Forum and groups like the Arewa Consultative Forum to take into cognisance fact that the Niger Delta region has seen neglect and deprivation since oil was first discovered in commercial quantity in 1958.

According to him, it is not in dispute that the region has endured tension and crisis that resulted in the loss of revenue when the nation’s extractive capacity dropped to its all time low in 2009.

Ofehe said now that the government of President Jonathan has summoned the political will to push for reform through the PIB that was presented to the National Assembly in 2008, Nigerians should put aside their primordial sentiment by supporting speedy passage of the bill in national interest.

“We hereby urge the North to embrace and accept the PIB and allow for a smooth passage of the bill through the National Assembly to become law. This will further harmonise the relationship between oil-bearing communities and multinational oil companies in the region. It will also foster peace and harmony that will open the door for an effective and suitable climate for investment in the oil and gas sector,” he said.

The HNDC boss cautioned that Northern politicians must not use the PIB as a tool for political blackmail; instead, Nigerians need to be united in their quest for equal sharing of resources. He further added that the HNDC believes in a united Nigeria and will support the North when they push through policies and bills that would ensure poverty eradication in the region.

Ofehe said he is disappointed in government’s inability to implement the UNEP report, which had uncovered massive environmental degradation in Ogoniland. He urged government to summon political will to implement the report, considered by experts as solution to environmental problems of the Ogoni people.

“The UNEP report must not be swept under the carpet and the government must muster the courage to respect and implement its content. Independent experts carried it out and the world is watching how the government will respond to it. HNDC will support any government or civil society initiative that will ensure a better environment and security for the people of the Niger Delta,” he said.