TODAY
January 28, 2021
Tension broke out at the ongoing public hearing on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) on Wednesday as disagreement amongst members of the host communities led to physical combat.
The fight started when the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) was called to the podium to make a presentation.
Some other bodies of host communities, however, stood up, leading to a rowdy session.
The situation became worse when members of the opposing sides began to exchange blows, forcing the lawmakers to seek the intervention of security operatives.
Leaders of the HOSTCOM had on Tuesday, openly rejected the 2.5 per cent proposed for them in the Petroleum Industry Bill 2020, being considered by the joint Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources, (Downstream, Upstream and Gas).
March 21, 2021 1:27 am
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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has faulted the position of host communities who are insisting on collecting 10 per cent of the operating expenditure of the oil firms to set up a trust fund.
The leaders of the oil rich areas under the aegis of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas, had on Tuesday, openly rejected the 2.5 per cent proposed for them in the Petroleum Industry Bill 2020, being considered by the joint Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources, (Downstream, Upstream and Gas).
They insisted that nothing short of the 10 per cent of the operating expenditure they were demanding would be acceptable to them because the proposed 2.5 per cent was grossly inadequate to provide basic social amenities and improve the standard of living of their people.
27 January 2021 14:48 GMT Updated 27 January 2021 14:48 GMT in London
The Nigerian government has rejected a proposal by communities in the Niger Delta that their revenues from hosting upstream activities in their locales should be four times higher than the 2.5% of operating expenditure stated in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
During two days of public hearings on the PIB on 25 and 26 January, the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (Hostcon) demanded that this figure should be 10% in order to compensate for the negative impact of upstream activities.
However, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, opposed the demand, arguing the proposed 2.5% provision in the PIB is reasonable.
The Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) has urged the federal government to scrap the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The National President of HOSTCOM, High Chief Benjamin Tamaranebi made the call on Tuesday in an interview with journalists at the side-line of the public hearing on Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2020, […]