My take on this present Petroleum industry Governance bill is that we in the communities are the ones feeling the impact of the oil exploration as it happens. It’s important that we benefit from this and this can happen by putting in place proper structures that can manage the resources that will come to local communities because if there is not proper structure, it will lead to communal violence.
There should also make sure that whatever structure they are thinking of putting in place, they should not forget to involve the youths, the women and other community stakeholders. Emphasis should be on capacity building for women, youths and there should community development so that the community can benefit and these benefits can come in the form of capacity building and structural building. It is only when they do that that the community will be relieved or happy about what is put into the PIGB.
After all the spill and the problems after the spill, it’s the communities that suffers it, so there should set up a trust board or a trust council that will care of the aftermath of the spill so that we can have a clean environment that we can live in and leave for our children too. Within the structure to be set up, there must be people of transparent and accountable nature there.
We should be able to control 25% and not 10%. It should be increased to 25%. We are seeking for resource control, the federal government should allow us control our resources and we pay tax to them. Are we being taken for granted because we are minority? If we control our resources and we pay them tax, we will be able to manage our ecological funds and manage the environment. Therefore, this is the time to act and do the needful and do what is right in this Petroleum governance industry bill.