By Chijioke Kingsley
The indigenous people of Rivers State and the South-South in Plateau State at the weekend fault the National Assembly for passing into law the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which compels oil companies to allocate 3% profits to hosts communities.
The people of the oil rich State who resides in Plateau said it is unacceptable that the region which provides the major wealth of the nation could be short changed in such a dubious way by the government.
The South-South who spoke through it’s President General, Chief Philip Ojokojo in Jos on Saturday, during the launch and fund raising for the construction of a secretariat by the Rivers State indigenes in the State, said Nigeria is drifting into secession because of injustice.
According to him: “How can the region that produces oil get 3% while communities that does not get 30% for exploration purposes. Will you call that justice? This will affect us negatively and will increase hostility. You cannot come to my place, beat me and say I should not cry is it possible?.
“The solutions is for all the stakeholders in the country to come together in a roundtable and discuss on how to move this country forward. We should remove sentiment of all sorts, religion, tribe or regional sentiments and discuss how to move the country forward.
“If the government is saying that they want to develop Nigeria with the oil money, then it should be done holistically not that it will allocate some percentage base on whatever sentiment it holds on the people.
“I am in support of true Federalism, what is good for Musa should be good for John, and what is good for the North should be good for the South, everybody should be treated equally”, he said.
It would be recalled that the Senate last Thursday passed the Petroleum Industry Bill after the House of Representatives did the same.
The Senate said 30 percent of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) profit from oil and gas should be used to fund exploration of frontier basins.
Also, the Rivers community in the State, also used the occasion to honor the Plateau State Commissioner for Tourism and Hospitality, Mrs Tamwakat Weli, for being a good wife and mother to their son who hails from Rivers State.
