Reactions are still trailing the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) that was handed back to the House of Representatives by President Muhammadu Buhari for further amendments.
Reacting to the development, the Coalition of Rivers Oil and Gas Host Communities (COROGHC) in a statement, said the group have been vindicated on its believe that the law was ‘hurriedly passed to tickle the fancy of the Executive arm of government’.
In the statement that was signed by CROGHCOM Chairman, Barituka Loanyie, the group described the law as a mere political grandstanding because of the 202223 General Elections.
“What are they amending in the PIA? Are they going to amend the compounding issues and ambiguous rifts of the oil and gas host communities?”, he asked, pointing out that the law as passed violated both constitutional and international laws.
According to the group, sabotage and illegal third party activities occur in the Niger Delta as well as several other places where extractive resources are exploited, further noting that international oil industry standards require that operators act to prevent sabotage and illegal activity.
“It is pertinent to note that while the purpose of the Community Trust Fund is to aid the development of the host communities, section 257 provides that “where in any year, an act of vandalism, sabotage, or other civil unrest occurs that causes damage to petroleum and designated facilities or disrupts production activities within the host community, the community shall forfeit its entitlement to the extent of the cost of repairs of the damage that resulted from the activity”, he said.
