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Tuesday, January 26, 2021

PETROLEUM INDUSTRY BILL WILL FOSTER PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE, GOOD GOVERNANCE - WILLIAMS MKPAH




Jerryz Edoho, Uyo




The Executive Chairman of Ibeno Local Government Council, High Chief Williams Mkpah, has expressed optimism that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) if passed into law with the submissions of host communities consented to, will foster good  governance, promote transparency and accountability in the administration of the petroleum resources of Nigeria.






High Chief Mkpah,  stated this while making his presentation on Tuesday, 26th January, 2021  during a 2-day joint public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill, declared open by the Senate president, Mr. Ahmed Lawan in the National Assembly. Mkpah pointed that the power to appoint trustees should not rest on the authority of the company but on the host communities and local government authorities with minimal input of the oil companies and its inhabitants in order to ensure sustainable trust of community framework for development. 



"If the Petroleum Industry Bill is justifiably addressed and passed into law  inline with local content policy, business environment will be conducive for petroleum operations and Communities will be satisfied; The issue of incessant youth restiveness, kidnapping, disruption and pipeline vandalism will become history"



The Ibeno Council boss also said that the  establishment of multiple top bodies such as advisory committee, fund management, environment  and all existing administrative functions should be collapsed into functions of the board of trustees. He added that "It is salient to develop the framework for the governance of oil producing communities to be developed, including economic benefits from product operators".




Recall that the bill had passed through its first reading in the Senate on October 1, 2020. The Bill seeks to provide legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities and related matter.






High Chief Mkpah, who was among reprentatives of host communities, said he is certain that the National Assembly this time around will give the bill the consent it deserves by doing justice to the submissions of oil Producing Communities which he said will enable sustainable prosperity within host communities and as well provide direct social and economic benefits from petroleum operations to host communities.





Earlier, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, while declaring open the 2-day public hearing on the bill by the National Assembly, stated that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) presently before the National Assembly will ensure that Nigerians benefit optimally from crude oil production and the sale of fossil fuel reserves. Lawan assured that the bill when passed into law, guarantees improved revenue earnings for the country.

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