Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday emphasised that only the local
refining of crude oil could guarantee permanent solution to the perennial and
embarrassing fuel scarcity in the country.
He said local refining will make
fuel available and easily accessible to all Nigerians, adding that every other
measure to put an end to the recurring problem of fuel scarcity will always be
temporarily.
Speaking when he received the
executive members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in his office, he said while consultation is ongoing on the
part of leadership at different strata, the results will only achieve temporary
relief until refineries are functioning enough to refine crude locally to meet
the demand of Nigerians.
His remarks came on a day the
lower chamber at plenary, passed a motion mandating its Committees on Local
Content and Legislative compliance to investigate allegations of gross neglect
of host communities and breach of local content laws against Total E&P
Nigeria Limited.
The committees are to examine the
allegations and the local content components of the projects in the affected
areas with a view to ensuring that the company include the youth of Andoni in
its recruitment process of both graduate and non-graduate staff, award
contracts to Andoni indigenes, embark upon capacity building and community
development projects and report back within six weeks for further legislative
action.
However, Dogara, during the
meeting with the visiting PENGASSAN officials said: “Unless we are able to
refine crude locally, we will never be in a position as a nation to say bye to
fuel scarcity and that is the truth. Anyone who thinks we can depend on importation
and still solve this problem is deceiving himself.
“You see, when you import, you
are depending on so many variables. These variables are not within your control
and anything can happen along the line that may result in this. The solution is
to refine crude locally and end this shame once and for all. “The final
solution will be to refine this crude, put it in the filing station and say bye
to fuel scarcity.”
The speaker also called for
capacity building for workers to discharge the responsibility to yield optimal
results.
While thanking PENGASSAN for
taking the right path by engaging with legislators on areas of concern on
developments in the petroleum sector, he noted that dialogue between citizens
in the form of associations, unions and civil society groups, and the
legislature, will deepen the process of democracy by making the government more
responsive to their demands.
He further assured them that the
House and the Senate are jointly working on the remaining components of the
Petroleum Industry Bill to ensure that their passage are expedited.
He also advised them to take the
opportunity of the joint public hearing of both petroleum committees of the
National Assembly to make their input to the Bill.
Earlier, president of PENGASSAN,
Francis Olabode Johnson, commended the House for its effort at ensuring
accountability and transparency in the oil and gas industry, as well as the
National Assembly for passing the PIGB.
He said the fuel scarcity
Nigerians are experiencing is embarrassing and urged the lower chamber to
collaborate with them on finding a sustainable way to end the crisis and
prevent a resurgence by revamping and rehabilitating the nation’s refineries
with timelines and strategies that will lead to adequate and sustainable crude
supply.
The PENGASSAN president also
asked that all difficulties associated with importation of refined products
into the country should be addressed along with enhancement of infrastructural
facilities, while appealing to the lawmakers for support for initiatives that
will lead to job creation and improved security.
Meanwhile, the House resolution
on Total E&P followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante
(PDP, Rivers) on call for investigation of the activities of Total E&P
Nigeria Limited on the deliberate neglect, underdevelopment and abandonment of
its corporate legal responsibilities under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry
Content Development Act (NOGICD), 2010.
Among other things, he said: “Out
of over 50 contractors and sub-contractors that worked for Total in
establishing the platform and are still working for it in its operations, not
one was or is of Andoni extraction contrary to the provisions of Section 3(2),
25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development
(NOGICD) Act, 2010.
“Official government records
confirm that from 1990 when it established the Amenam/Kpono platform till date,
spanning over 27 years of continuous oil and gas extraction and operation,
Total E&P Ltd. has not executed cumulative developmental projects worth up
to N200million in towns of the host communities, despite the profit of billions
of dollars from its operations in the communities.”
Also yesterday, a House ad hoc
committee summoned the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi over the crisis
rocking the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State.
The committee, chaired by Hon.
Yuguda Hassan Kila (APC, Jigawa) is investigating the circumstances that led to
the minister’s decision to appoint a six-man interim management committee to
manage the affairs of the academy.
It’s also looking at the
restructuring plan and the activities of the interim committee as well as the
legality of the minister’s action.
Also summoned alongside the
minister are the chairman of the interim committee, Chief Adebayo Sarumi and
the acting rector of the academy, Duja Effedua.
The academy has been without a
substantive rector since 2015.
In separate letters of summon to
Amaechi, Sarumi and Effedua, the ad hoc panel asked the trio to appear before
it unfailingly on February 27 to respond to some questions.
The House, in a motion last year
said the minister’s decision was against the provisions of the Act establishing
the academy as he lacks the powers to do so.
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