OWERRI—To facilitate development in
the Niger Delta region, South-East and South South lawmakers have called on the
Federal Government to review the ownership structure of oil wells in the
country to allow for 65 per cent ownership by the people of the region.
The lawmakers also condemned the
criminal and nefarious activities of herdsmen and called for the establishment
of special task force drawn from the various security agencies and
Neighbourhood Watch in each local government area to checkmate the excesses of
herdsmen and prosecute them. They also urged the National Assembly to ensure
the accelerated passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.
According to them: “The people of the Niger
Delta region should possess at least 65 per cent of the oil wells contrary to the
present ownership structure where less than 10 per cent of the oil blocks
belong to our people.” They noted that the region’s development is being
hindered by the present payment mode of derivative oil funds. “There is an
urgent need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in place adequate
machinery that would ensure direct payment of derivative oil funds into the
hands of Niger Delta benefiting communities,” the principal officers and
members of the Houses of Assembly in the region said. Rising from the first
parliamentary session of the South-East and South-South Houses of Assembly in
Owerri, Imo State, weekend, the lawmakers condemned the criminal and nefarious
activities of the so called herdsmen. “Legislators of the Houses of Assembly in
the South-South and South East can no longer watch helplessly as our region
drifts aimlessly while our people walk the razor edge under the strain of
impoverishment, environmental degradation, insecurity and uncertainty on the
one hand and the destruction of oil/gas installations and the attendant
consequences including their impact on the eco-system and the economy on the
other hand.
” They urged the youth to shun
confrontation, violence and militancy in pressing for the redress of the zone.
“They must embrace dialogue and diplomacy and channel their grievances through
various constituted platforms.” The joint session of legislators from the South
-East and South –South geo-political zones not only condemned the evil acts of
kidnapping, hostage taking and bursting of oil pipelines, but stressed that
militants from the zones should be constituted into an officially recognized
brigade for the protection of oil installations The legislators, who called for
more proactive measures to address the activities of herdsmen, restated their
commitments to pass bills restricting cattle rearing, prohibiting grazing of
cattle from one location to another through farmlands thereby causing damages
to farm lands, health hazards and obstruction of vehicular and human traffic.
The lawmakers while attributing the
defective and harsh socio-economic environment, lack of employment
opportunities, lack of empowerment for the youth, environmental degradation,
lack of infrastructure, general under-development and inadequate benefit of the
resources from the region, rejected the proposed bill to establish and control
grazing routes and reserves before the National Assembly and state Houses of
Assembly.
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