PIB Bill: There may be another round of restiveness in N’Delta if NASS fail to adopt our views – EGCDF

By Atevure Princess,

Members of the Egbema and Gbaramatu Communities Development Foundation, EGCDF, in Warri North and Warri South West Local Government Areas of Delta State, yesterday, reiterated its call on the National Assembly to include the recommendations, views and resolutions of the oil bearing communities in the proposed draft of the Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill.

Executive Chairman of EGCDF, Comrade Jude Ebitimi Ukori who made this known in a chat, stated that failure of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill to include and adopt the recommendations of the Oil and Gas Host Communities in the proposed draft will lead to another round of restiveness in the Niger Delta.

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Ukori stated that EGCDF as host to numerous facilities of Chevron Nigeria Limited, which includes Opuekeba, Olero, Abiteye, Dibi, Makaraba, Utunana and Escravos flow stations has always agitated for and remained hopeful for better deals for their host communities that have suffered long neglect and marginalization from successive Governments inspite of their major contributions to the mainstay of the Nation’s economy.

According to Ukori, EGCDF has been optimistic to see the passage of the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB), hoping that it would better the lot of the people of the oil and gas producing communities but they were shocked at the contents in the draft of the Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Bill which further deepen the enslavement of the oil bearing and impacted communities in the Niger Delta.

He reiterated that they had expected that the draft bill would be an advanced development on their current experiences but they regret to say that it is not in any way better than the current GMoU they operate with Chevron Nigeria Limited.