TEXT OF PRESS BRIEFING ON THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY BILL (PIB), BY CIVIL SOCIETY LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY CENTRE (CISLAC), ON THE 31ST OF AUGUST, 2010, ABUJA.
HISTORY BECKONS, PASS THE BILL NOW!!!
PROTOCOLS:
Our attention has been drawn to the double talks between the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives whose duty it is to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill into law like any other Bill.
It appears that the leadership of the National Assembly, especially the House of Representative is playing games.
While the Senate assured Nigerians that they are making effort to pass the Bill, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Oladimeji Bankole informed a gathering in Lagos recently that the House has passed the Bill.
CISLAC is concerned and worried that the efforts of various communities, experts and stakeholders which culminated in that bill may just be in vain if a Bill as important as the PIB is treated with levity... Our investigations reveal that the House is yet to pass the Bill as claimed by the Speaker. We are worried because we can't place the motive behind this deceit. Is it that the National Assembly wants to divert our attention and kill the Bill or what? We need to know.
CISLAC's interaction with some House Members of the joint committee overseeing the Bill indicate that this bill may not be ready for passage before November at the earliest, and that a final House draft of the Bill is yet to be produced.
CISLAC and other CSOs working on this bill want the Speaker of the House of Representatives to come out categorically and tell Nigerians the stage at which the Bill is now and not to deceive the public because as elected public officers they owe it as a duty to tell the truth always. Our investigations reveal that the Bill has not even gone through the third reading talk less of been passed, and that is the FACT.
We want to draw the attention of the authorities and the Nigerian public to the fact that the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry has been in existence for more than 50years since 1958 when the first discovery was made in Olobiri which is in today's Bayelsa State. In spite of the long history of Oil exploration in the country, the economy is still on its knees and does not reflect buoyant economy. This, we all know is due to the exploitation and monumental corruption in the sector, the mismanagement and the criminal collaboration by government officials in collaboration with foreign agents to rob the Nigerian people of benefits from their God-given resources.
Nigeria is in dire need of reforms in the Petroleum Sector. It is on record that the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000 commenced a process of reform and had set up the Oil and Gas sector Reform Implementation Committee. This Committee came up with the Nigerian Oil and Gas policy, which began the process of drafting the PIB, initially Chaired by Dr. Rilwan Lukman and later by Dr. Edmund Daukoru. The process went on till 2007 when the final draft was tabled.
All the Stakeholders in the Oil and Gas sectors were involved in the draft process and a near perfect document was produced. For the highest law making body of the land to drag its feet on an important Bill like the PIB is indeed worrisome.
The PIB if passed into an Act will be a monumental opportunity to liberate the Oil sector from the grip of foreign corrupt collaborators. It was on this basis, that CISLAC and other Stakeholders addressed a press briefing earlier this month to express our dissatisfaction over the non-passage of the Bill, and with a renewed call on the National Assembly to as a matter of urgency and a call to national duty, pass the Bill without further delay and stop the open show of unseriousness towards the passage of the Bill.
LOCAL CONTENT AND 10% EQUITY PARTICIPATION FOR COMMUNITIES
Despite public statements to the contrary, it appears no provision for the 10 percent equity has been inserted into any version of the PIB on the House or Senate sides.
Senior House members working on the PIB say they have no knowledge of it, nor have they seen any plan or proposal for it. This shows that not all aspects of the report may have been captured in the Bill. 10% equity participation for Oil bearing communities in Petroleum ventures has not been captured in the Bill. This 10% will enhance local content, better the economy of Oil bearing communities and solve the problem of restiveness and in a way palliate the environmental degradation arising from gas flaring, spillage and other related issues associated with Oil and Gas exploitation which the Host communities have suffered for years.
We are concerned that despite its populist nature, stakeholders in the Niger Delta have not been given opportunity to comment on or even see the plans for the 10 percent. Indeed, it is not clear what the plans are, or even if a final plan exists at all. This is notwithstanding the fact that the measure was first announced close to one year ago. Since then, it appears that the Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, has been almost solely responsible for designing the 10 percent, with little outside input. Secrecy around oil money has a long history of causing conflict in the Niger Delta. Government should not repeat mistakes of the past, but instead should make consideration of the 10 percent equity open and transparent.
CISLAC therefore urge the National Assembly to ensure the inclusion of the 10% equity participation by Oil and Gas bearing communities for the obvious benefits of the Nigerian State and simply ensure accountability. The inclusion of the 10% will definitely empower the local communities rather than the frivolous inclusion in the Niger Delta budget of sub-heads like funerals, marriages, and birthdays to the tune of billions of naira.
We are aware of the intrigues of some groups within the Oil and Gas sector to sabotage this process. We noted in our Press briefing of February 1, 2010 that the powerful Oil industry lobbyists are at work. Such groups have tried to insinuate that aspects of the Bill are "anti-investment"; this is only an attempt to maintain a corrupt and porous as well as spurious status quo to serve and benefit their interests.
We are also aware of entrenched interests within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Those within the sector that have fed fat from the bad system to the detriment of the Nigerian people will definitely resist all attempts at restructuring the sector, but we can't fold our hands and allow a few individuals with their foreign collaborators to take the Nigerian economy down the drain.
We therefore call on the National Assembly to without delays expedite action on the passage of the PIB when they reconvene from their two-month recess before they wind up for the Legislative year.
It is therefore necessary for the lawmakers to ignore all negative lobby groups and pass this Bill in due course, considering the fact that time is running out. As politicians when they return from recess, the time left for them for legislative business is little because they must return to their constituencies to seek for re-election before the polity heats up with electioneering campaigns, we call on the National Assembly to do this nation some good and pass the Bill for History Beckons.
Thank you all for your attention.
Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)
Executive Director, CISLAC
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Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) is a non-governmental, non-profit legislative advocacy, lobbying, information sharing and research organization. (CISLAC) works towards bridging the gap between the legislature and the electorate; by enhancing lobbying strategies; engagement of bills before their passage into law; manpower development for lawmakers, legislative aides, politicians and the civil society, as well as civic education on the tenets of democracy and Human Rights.
AUWAL IBRAHIM MUSA (RAFSANJANI)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
Address:
No.5 Mahathma Gandhi Street,
Off Shehu Shagari Way,
By Bullet Garden, Area 11 Junction,
Asokoro, Abuja - Nigeria
Website: www.cislacnigeria.org
Email: info@cislacnigeria.org, cislacnationalassembly@yahoo.com, rafsanjanikano@yahoo.com
GSM: +234-8033844646, 08052370333, 07034118266
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