By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]enin City, Nigeria – Africa Network for Environment & Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has perfected plans to convene a dialogue session with key stakeholders and host communities in the Garden City, Port Harcourt on March 1, 2018.ANEEJ Executive Director, Rev David Ugolor disclosed this vide a letter sent to the host communities and stakeholders during the week.
Ugolor said that in spite of the strategic relevance of the petroleum industry to Nigeria’s economy, the Petroleum Industry Bill, a piece of legislation designed to effect reform in the sector has suffered severe setbacks despite effort by the Nigerian Government, civil society and other industry players to see that the bill becomes operational in the country.
“The most interesting thing about the PIB is that the Nigerian government has now fragmented the PIB which are currently before the National Assembly. The bills include (1) the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), (2) the Petroleum Fiscal Framework Bill, and, (3) the Petroleum Host Communities Development Bill,” Ugolor said.
Presently, the PIGB has been passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, awaiting harmonisation and assent by the president.
“As a direct contribution to the passage of credible bills that can address the sector’s seemingly insurmountable challenges, ANEEJ is hosting a CSO/Community dialogue on the bills to give opportunity for stakeholders within the Niger Delta region and some FOSTER 11 partners to build consensus around key issue and evolve a workable position which can be used to interface with policymakers,” Ugolor said.
According to Rev Ugolor, the purpose of the dialogue is to build consensus among stakeholders, collate and harmonize diverse views on the bill. At the end of the dialogue, participants will come up with CSOs and community position on the bill in preparation for public hearing which will come up at a later date. “We encourage participants to come with their respective positions on the PIB.”
