The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, has urged the National Assembly (NASS) to speed up the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The call is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by the Director of Information in the ministry, Mr Salisu Na’inna.
Na’inna said that the minister made the call during a meeting with executives of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM).
He added that the early passage of the Bill would address the plights of oil and gas producing communities in the country.
He noted that “I am concerned about the PIB because its passage has dragged for too long.”
He reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to address the plight of the people of the region, stressing that no stone would be left unturned toward
ameliorating their sufferings.
On gas flaring, he said “those who suffer the effects of gas flaring are not only within the Niger Delta region even though the people of the region feel
the impact most.”
He said that the Federal Government was consulting on the clean-up of the area with relevant authorities.
He urged the communities to support government in checking oil theft and vandalism of oil and gas installations, which he said should be done with probity and sincerity.
The National Chairman of HOSTCOM, Chief Alfred Bubor, decried the slow pace of development in the region.
He added that successive governments had failed to significantly change the lives of the people or the quality of their environment.
Bubor said that the oil and gas producing communities had never felt the impact of the several interventions initiated by government.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Wakama Belema, then assured the oil and gas producing communities of the present administration’s commitment to their welfare.
She said that the ministry was making efforts to ensure that the communities felt the presence of government in their lives.
She listed some of the various projects and programmes of the ministry in the region to include the construction of skill acquisition centres,
housing schemes, electrification of communities, road and water supply projects.
All these projects were being implemented to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the Niger Delta, she added. (NAN)
(NAN)