The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed through third reading the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in outright disregard for the demand of the 17 Southern Governors and South-South region for the reversal of 30% share for exploration of frontier basins and 3% or 5% host community trust fund.
The House last week considered and adopted the 318 clauses report of the ad-hoc Committee on the PIB Chaired by the House Chief Whip, Mohammed Mongunu.
The Green Chamber unlike Senate that provided for 3%, approved 5% operating cost by oil companies to the Host Community Development Trust Fund as against section 240 ( 2) of the draft Bill that prescribed 2.5% for that purpose.
It equally approved 30% of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) profit share for exploration of frontier basins; such as Lake Chad, Benue trough, Anambra, Diahomey (Lagos) and Gombe Basins.
However, these approvals have been rejected, particularly by the oil producing South South region which demanded that 10% equity participation be paid into the Host Communities Trust Fund for the development of the Niger Delta region.
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National Leader of the region, Edwin Clark in a letter addressed to both the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House sighted by BusinessDay in Abuja, accused Northern Lawmakers of conspiring with International Oil Companies (IOCs) to pass an unjust piece of legislation that denies the Niger Deltans of their God-given resources.
The letter described the 3% as satanic and an obnoxious law that has never been seen in the history of Nigeria, given that it was too paltry to mitigate the sufferings the host communities are going through.
Part of the letter reads: “The people of the Niger Delta, at all levels both at home and abroad, have expressed their great displeasure over the satanic and obnoxious allocation of a paltry percentage of Operating Expenditure to Oil Producing Communities by the National Assembly.
“It is important to state clearly here to all well-meaning Nigerians that the demand of the oil-bearing communities of the Niger Delta region was for a minimum of 10% equity participation.”
Similarly, the 17 Southern Governors rejected the proposed 30% share of NNPC profit for frontier exploration and
the proposed 3% share of the oil revenue to the host communities.
The Governors in a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting in Lagos on Monday demanded that the ownership of NNPC limited be in the trust of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) instead of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“The Forum rejects the proposed 3% and support the 5% share of the oil revenue to the host community as recommended by the House of Representatives.
“The forum also rejects the proposed 30% share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the basins. However, the forum rejects the ownership structure of the proposed Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC)”, the communiqué read in parts.
Despite these demands, the House at plenary, unilaterally passed the PIB as it was lumped together with six other Bills and put to voice vote with the majority answering in affirmative.
Moving that the PIB be passed, House Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa said: “Mr Speaker, I will like to seek your leave and that of the House to read the seven Bills at the same time and taken simultaneously for the Third Reading.
“Having been given the leave of the House, I therefore rise to move that the Bill for an Act to provide for Legal Governance, Regulatory and Fiscal Framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the Developmental of Host Communities and for related matters 2021 (HB1061) be passed for Third Reading”.
Meanwhile, members of the House from the 17 Southern states unanimously and unequivocally backed their Governors in rejecting the proposed 30% share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the frontier basins.
The lawmakers under the auspices of House of Representatives Southern Caucus in a statement by their Chairman, Victor Nwokolo also rejected the moves to vest the ownership structure of NNPC and supported the move that it should be held in trust by NSIA since all tiers of government have stakes in that agency.
“As lawmakers, we insist that the 30% share of profit as well as vesting ownership structure of the proposed NNPC on the ministry of finance instead of the NSIA do not reflect the desired essentials of justice, equity and fairness.
“We however note the support lent by our governors to the 5% share of the oil revenue to host community as recommended by the House of Representatives and we assure that every effort would be made to sustain our position at the harmonization level”, the statement said.
