By Sampson Boroh
Ijaw National Congress (INC) on Monday warned against signing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) recently passed by both chambers of the National Assembly into law without 10 per cent for Host Communities Development Trust Fund.
INC, the apex socio-cultural umbrella of the Ijaw ethnic nationality in the Niger Delta, rejected the three and five per cent approved by the Senate and House of Representatives.
President of INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, stated this on Monday after Executive Meeting of the body in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.
Okaba called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to sign the PIB as it is currently passed by the National Assembly without ten per cent compensation for oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta region.
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He urged President Buhari to demonstrate statesmanship by taking bold steps to douse the rising tension by refraining from signing the bill until the National Assembly approves 10% as the HCDTF.
The INC President also called on the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, to inscribe his name in gold and be on the side of posterity by standing firm with the people of the Niger Delta region on the issue.
“We reject in its entirety the 3% and 5% provisions as compensation, the redefinition of host communities and other provisions including the allocation of 30% of our oil resources to grope in the dark in the name of exploitation of a paradox of extreme kind that is not in symphony with common sense, equity and good conscience.
“The Ijaw nation is more convinced that the call for restructuring, true federalism and resource control is the only way out for peace, justice and equity to reign in this country and the guarantee for our continuous commitment to the Nigerian project.
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“This scenario has also reignited our search and pursuit for self-determination and self-actualization in a clime that has brutally raped our sensitivities and rights to peaceful and prosperous existence.
“The perpetrators of these obnoxious policies and laws that infringe on our fundamental human and environmental rights should equally be reminded of the dire consequences and find themselves to be blamed in the event of any eventuality”, he added.
