Mr Emmanuel Ogidi, Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South South, has decried refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Ogidi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that the PIB was dear to the Niger Deltans.
According to him, the bill seeks to enhance transparency and accountability in the industry, enhance private sector investment and address issues affecting host communities.
Ogidi said that the bill had been on for many years and that the National Assembly had done all that was necessary to make it see the light of the day.
He also expressed worry over the president’s refusal to sign the Electoral Law Amendment Bill.
The chieftain said that the reasons put forward by the presidency for declining assent to the bills were not `acceptable’.
The presidential aide on National Assembly Matters, Sen. Ita Enang had said that President Muhammadu Buhari withheld assent to PIGB for constitutional and legal reasons.
He also said that the president declined assent to the draft law initiated to update the outdated Petroleum Act to replace its provisions with a more comprehensive and current legal framework that aligned with global standards.
Ogidi said that the Electoral Law Amendment Bill was necessary to ensure a credible election in 2019 as it sought to give legal backing to the use of card readers.
He noted that Buhari promised credible elections come 2019, while receiving his counterparts from Germany and Britain but alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police had been compromised.
He called on all the heads of security agencies to learn from the misfortunes of the recently sacked Director General of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and live up to expectations.
The PDP stalwart said nobody is indispensable adding that there were capable Nigerians waiting for the opportunity to serve.
He said that security issues must be taken very seriously adding that there was urgent need for government to put an end to killings across the country.
“Nigerians must engage the government and keep talking to be taken seriously, we are not comedians and we must prevent a repeat of what happened in the Ekiti Elections.
“I urge elder statesmen to keep speaking out and attract the attention of the international community; Nigeria being the giant of Africa cannot afford to be brought low,” he said.
According to Ogidi, Nigerians, have gone out in their numbers to get registered ahead of 2019 general elections in a bid to sustain democracy
He described reports alleging that some Nigerians were made to part with money to collect their Permanent Voter Card (PVCs) as `unfortunate’.
The chieftain expressed confidence that the PDP would win the presidential election come 2019.
Speaking on the defection of the former Governor of Delta, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan from the PDP to the All Progressive Congress (APC), Ogidi said that it was of no consequence to the PDP.
He described the move as a quest for relevance saying that before Uduaghan left office as governor, members of the PDP had already deserted him for lack of performance.
Following the collapse of St. Paul Catholic Church in Adagbrasa-Ugolo community, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, Ogidi urged church leaders to always engage professionals.
He advised that, rather than engaging church members in building projects, it was safer and better to engage experienced professionals.
“It is unfortunate that we lose lives daily to killings across the country, we cannot afford to loose lives to collapsed building as well,” he said. (NAN)