To facilitate development in the Niger Delta region, South-South
and South East lawmakers have urged the Federal Government to review the
ownership structure of oil wells in the country.
“The people of the Niger Delta region should possess
at least 65 percent of the oil wells contrary to the present ownership
structure where less than 10 percent of the oil blocks belong to our people”
They noted that the region’s development is being
hindered by the present payment mode of derivative oil funds.
“There is an
urgent need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to put in place adequate
machinery that would ensure direct payment of derivative oil funds into the
hands of Niger Delta Benefiting communities” the principal officers and members
of the Houses of Assembly in the region said.
Rising from the first parliamentary session of the South-South
and South-East Houses of Assembly in Owerri, Imo State weekend, the lawmakers condemned
the criminal and nefarious activities of the so called herdsmen.
“Legislators of the Houses of Assembly in the South-South
and South East can no longer watch helplessly as our region drifts aimlessly
while our people walk the razor edge under the strain of impoverishment,
environmental degradation, insecurity and uncertainty on the one hand and the
destruction of oil/gas installations and the attendant consequences including
their impact on the ecosystem and the economy on the other hand”
They urged the youth to shun confrontation, violence
and militancy in pressing for the redress of the zone.
“They must embrace dialogue and diplomacy and channel
their grievances through various constituted platforms”
The joint session of legislators from the South -East
and South –South geo-political zones not only condemned the evil acts of
kidnapping, hostage taking and bursting of oil pipelines but stressed that
militants from the zones should be constituted into an officially recognized
brigade for the protection of oil installations
“They should among other things be charged with the
responsibility to halt the rise of other offensive militant groups who may from
time to time threaten to spring up”
The lawmakers advised the Presidency to direct the
security agencies in the country to brace up and be alive to their constitutional
responsibility of protecting lives and property.
“They must save the people of the geo-political zones
from the hands of the marauding herdsmen. Governments of the South-East and South-South
geo-political zones should set up a high powered joint judicial panel of inquiry
to unravel the facts and circumstances surrounding the incessant attacks by the
herdsmen and determine the best way to prevent its recurrence in the zones.
They should also establish special task force drawn from the various security
agencies and neighborhood watch in each local government to checkmate the
excesses of herdsmen and prosecute them”
The legislators, who called for more proactive
measures to address the activities of herdsmen, restated their commitments to
pass bills restricting cattle rearing, prohibiting grazing of cattle from one
location to another through farmlands thereby causing damages to farm lands,
health hazards and obstruction of vehicular and human traffic.
The lawmakers while attributing the defective and
harsh socio-economic environment, lack of employment opportunities, lack of
empowerment for the youth, environmental degradation, lack of infrastructure,
general underdevelopment and inadequate benefit of the resources from the
region, despite being the major source of the economic resources of the nation to
the causes of upsurge in militancy activities in the region, rejected the
proposed bill to establish and control grazing routes and reserves before the
National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.
They urged the Federal Government to revisit the
performance of the amnesty programme, the United Nations Environment Programme
Report and the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project with a view to strengthening
grey areas.
They also urged the National Assembly to ensure the
accelerated passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill
“The Federal Government should enter into peaceful
dialogue with the critical stakeholders in the South-South and South- East in
resolving the dispute and operate within the rule of engagement without
incurring collateral damage”
Speakers and Deputy Speakers of Abia, Akwa-Ibom,
Anambra, Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu and Imo states
were in attendance.
EBIRERI HENRY OVIE
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