TheCable

Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa state, says the 2.5 percent revenue allocated to oil-producing communities in the petroleum industry bill (PIB) is grossly inadequate and unacceptable.

Diri was speaking at a town hall meeting on the PIB with members of the national assembly and stakeholders in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

The PIB proposes 2.5 percent of the operating expenditure of oil firms to set up a trust fund for the oil-producing communities and host communities are insisting on 10 percent on the grounds that the percentage is not enough to improve the standard of living of their people.

Diri said the PIB is critical in addressing issues such as unemployment, lack of transparency in the oil and gas sector, the militarisation of oil production, skills acquisition, and marginalisation of oil-producing states.

“I restate our earlier submission that the 2.5 per cent proposed for the oil-producing communities is grossly inadequate and unacceptable to us as a people. In our proposal to you, we asked for 10 percent for the host communities,” he said.

“When you visit some of the sites where oil is being explored; that bring multi-million dollars to this country, you will even agree with me that we should increase it further from 10 per cent.”

He urged members of the national assembly to ensure the passage of PIB to engender peace and development in the region and Nigeria as a whole, as the passage and implementation of the bill have lingered for too long.

Diri said it is not in the interest of the people that communities that bear the brunt of oil production were given no consideration while multinational oil companies and the federal government were given more attention in the bill.

Meanwhile, Ebilade Ekerefe, spokesman for Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), said the life expectancy of the Niger Delta people had significantly reduced as a result of the effects of gas flaring.