Reactions have continued to trail the passing of the Petroleum Industry Bill by the national assembly with stakeholders accusing NASS of giving the oil bearing communities a short end of the stick.
The National President, Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM), Chief Benjamin Tamanarebi, has said it was insulting for the Senate and House of Representatives to cede only three and five per cent equity shareholding respectively to the oil and gas producing communities in the PIB passed.
Tamanarebi said it is unacceptable to the host communities.
“Imagine for over 63 years of neglect, deprivation and marginalisation of the aborigines who have suffered untold hardship in the midst of wealth, for the first time after many years of agitation, asking for only 10 per cent equity shareholding and the NASS leadership is considering five per cent and three per cent, thinking they have done us a favour. This is unacceptable and we reject the offer.
“It is our sole right as the aborigines, it is our land and waterways. Why deny our rights to benefit, right to have a clean environment, right to have potable water to drink, good hospital, electricity and good roads? We will study other areas in the Bill to address it in due course,” he said.
Also, the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has rejected the three per cent approval for the development of host communities by the Senate. National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Ken Robinson, while reacting to the approval, said stakeholders in the region are waiting to see if President Buhari would ascent to the bill as approved by the Senate.
He said the government cannot transform the oil industry without transforming the communities in whose backyard the industry is operated.
“The region is the biggest victim of the fraudulent Nigerian Constitution we are using and the lopsided nature of the country. So, what played out today (yesterday) is what is playing out in every aspect of the country, particularly under this president.”
