By Joy Omagha Idam
The Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSCON) has conveyed heartfelt congratulations to the President, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over his recent inauguration as they hereby reaffirmed support to him and his administration.
Addressing the Media in Abuja the Executive National Chairman Prince Dr. Mike Emuh, recalled that “HOSCON actually endorsed his candidature during his quest for the Presidency and mobilized our members who voted en-mass for him. We are most happy about his ascent to power and his patriotic leadership steps and decisions so far”.
“We also want to use this opportunity to extend our felicitations to the Vice President, His Excellency, Kashim Shettima, Senate President, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio, The Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, The Deputy Speaker Rt Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume and the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila. We wish them success as they settle down to serve the nation”.
Speaking further the action HOSCON Chairman noted that “it gladdens our heart that our efforts at HOSCON over the years are yielding some positive fruits particularly on the new law guiding the Oil and Gas sector known as the Petroleum Industry Act (PIB)”.
Dr Emuh, noted that “some fundamental parts of the PIA now have serious reckoning with the vital interests of the Oil and Gas producing communities, a major issue in our agitation over time for a new lease of life for the oil and gas bearing local communities considering the huge socio-economic challenges faced by the people in these communities”.
However, we would like to point out some related issues in the administration/implementation of the 3 percent PIA, which we believe requires fresh amendments by the 10th National Assembly.
The Settlers/Host communities puzzle, whereby the oil companies as settlers are the ones to submit names into the Trust Fund. This sounds ridiculous and for the sake of fairness, we strongly believe this portion of the PIA should be looked into.Again, we are concerned about the delay in the payment of the 3 percent PIA.
Since the implementation of the new law is in motion, there should be no further delay in the payment. So the non-implementation of this provision in the PIA is an issue.Again, we are also concerned about the payment of the 13 percent derivation fund to state governments instead of making the payment to the host communities as enunciated by the Presidential Implementation Committee on the PIA.
Furthermore, the pipeline surveillance and related infrastructure should also be domesticated and in care of the host communities as articulated by the United Nations and the PIA. All the above, we seriously aver, need some urgent consideration and re-evaluation by the relevant authorities and streamlined accordingly.On our part, we are committed to our ideals and we will continue to support good causes that promote peace and wellbeing in the oil and gas bearing communities across the country.
In this regard, we are equally concerned about the challenges posed by the following issues:Oil theft and way forwardPipeline vandalisationIllegal refineryOTHER ISSUES OF INTERESTCreating an enabling environment for the IOCs, LOCs, SPDC etc to operate and enhance their productivityActivation and promotion of modular refineriesHOSCON’s support for diversification of the economy, from agriculture to industrialization…e.g gas plant.
We note that the current realities in the country call for collective efforts bound in patriotism to move Nigeria forward and therefore, we are using this forum to reassure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of our total support to him and success of his government. Gentlemen of the Press, we thank you for your attention.