By Emma Ogbuehi
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has warned that the definition of a host community in the just passed Petroleum Industry Bill by the National Assembly was a time bomb if not properly addressed.
He also restated the position of governors of the southern states that it was an injustice to allot three per cent of oil revenue for the host communities that bear the brunt of exploration and exploitation activities.
Governor Diri spoke on Tuesday when he featured as guest on Channels Television breakfast current affairs programme, Sunrise Daily.
He was quoted in a press release by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, that prior to Monday’s meeting of the southern states’ governors in Lagos, the states had been in consultation with relevant stakeholders on their position, which he said was a minimum of 10 per cent to oil producing communities.
He said it was unthinkable and unacceptable to people of the South that a provision of 30 per cent profit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was inserted in the controversial bill for “frontier exploration” in areas that were not clearly specified.
Governor Diri strongly frowned at the definition of oil producing communities and host communities to include areas where pipelines are laid.
He called for a reversal of such proposal, saying it is a time bomb that if not properly addressed could create avoidable crises.
Diri restated his commitment and that of his colleagues in the Southern Governors Forum on continuous dialogue to resolve issues that border on the challenges faced by oil producing communities and states.
Responding to a question on open grazing, Diri described cattle rearing as a private business that the states have power to regulate, stressing that there was no going back on the ban of open grazing in Bayelsa, which he said was no longer sustainable.
He stated that the ban was in force in the state since he assented to the bill on March 11, 2021.
On the issue of the governors’ resolve that the president of the country should emerge from the South in 2023, he said although it was a political decision that required consultations and lobby, a president of Southern extraction in the next election would encourage peaceful coexistence in Nigeria.
His words: “Governors did not wait until now to speak on the PIB. Speaking on behalf of my state, we had a position and it was made very clear during the public hearings.
“It is unthinkable and total injustice to allot three per cent to oil producing communities. We stated our position of 10 per cent.
“The definition of host communities or oil producing communities is also worrisome. Oil producing communities should not be where pipelines are laid. If the issue of what an oil producing community is, is not addressed, it is a time bomb that could explode.
“The issue of cattle grazing is a commercial, private activity. I do not see why we needed anybody’s opinion to regulate a private activity. We have a duty to protect our people. That is why we have state assemblies. In Bayelsa it already came into effect since March 11, 2021. Open grazing is no longer sustainable. We need to stop it.
“On the issue of Southern presidency, the governors would have to engage in lobby. But it is only natural justice for the south to produce the president after President Buhari’s eight years. It is not constitutional but a gentleman’s agreement to encourage cohesion and peaceful coexistence.”
Speaking on the performance of his administration, Diri said although COVID-19 slowed things down globally, his administration has made appreciable progress in road and infrastructure development, urban renewal of the state capital, Yenagoa, as well as in ensuring peace, unity and reconciliation within the last 16 months of being in office.
He assured that his administration was committed to development of every sector of the state’s economy and called for support from Bayelsans.
