A former Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to withhold his assent on the Petroleum Industry Bill passed by the National Assembly.
He said there was the need for the review of the proposed legislation to accommodate the five per cent allocation to the host communities.
Dickson, who is representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, stated this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
He said, “We believe that there should be a review of the legislation. There shouldn’t be a signature yet. President Buhari shouldn’t assent to it yet.
“It should be delayed for a more consultative and inclusive work so that while trying to solve problems you don’t create more problems.
“If the President has not guaranteed security in the North-East, South-East, South-West and North-West, it will be against the national interest to open another frontier of conflicts perhaps in the only region that is enjoying relative stability because of the policies that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua initiated.”
Dickson lamented that the leadership of the Senate, led by Ahmad Lawan, frustrated efforts by the South-South senators to get the support of their colleagues from other regions to approve the five per cent host communities equity share.
He said the action of the Lawan-led leadership to invite the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, to the Senate chambers made senators from other regions to withdraw their support for the five per cent allocation.
He said, “Senator Thompson Sekibo and I were mandated to reach out to other senators who are not in our region and we did. We spoke to most of them and they all supported us for the 5 per cent.
“Before we took that deliberation and the vote, the Minister of petroleum and the GMD of NNPC were invited to give us the executive perspective.
“They told us that it is either we agree to 2.5 per cent or no investment.
“So, I can feel how most members who had earlier given us their commitment felt when they heard the tough position by the executive.
“The minister said there won’t be investment inflow if we approve anything higher than the 2.5 per cent. There was no room for any interrogation, so they left and we started the consideration.”
The Senator explained that the bill proposed 10 per cent for the host communities and another 10 per cent for frontier development when it was introduced to the National Assembly by the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
He said, “Unfortunately, the bill could not be passed then. The 9th Assembly has been able to pass it but we have to get it right.
“I am not happy with the three per cent that was eventually passed. Most of us disagree completely and that was why I led my other colleagues from the South-South to stage a walk out.
“The argument was that the investors would not come if more than three per cent was approved.
“However I want to state that if the host communities are not happy, the investors will not come.
“Let us be very careful, and that is why I am of the view that the three per cent is not helpful to the host communities, not helpful to the oil companies and also, not helpful to the country.”
The senator added that it was not too later for a review the three per cent allocation “so that we can have the buy in of the of the host communities.”
He added that there was nothing wrong with appropriating money for frontier basin but it should not be up to 30 per cent.
“There are several frontier basins in the country. I know it serves the national interest in exploring more basins but why allocating 30 per cent of NNPC profit to oil exploration when the desire of the host communities were not met.
“They were denied the 5 per cent and this will raise security concerns because the Nigerian security operatives will be overwhelmed and they will need money to work.
“Meanwhile if we said five per cent and the producing communities are on the same page with the government, there will be a secured and safe environment.” – Punch.
