Prince Dr Mike Emu, National Chairman, Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSCON), has said that the people of the Niger Delta region are suffering due to the non-implementation of the 13 percent derivation.
This was as he called on the federal government to make haste in establishing a 13 percent derivation presidential implementation committee and allow the host community to nominate people.
Emu spoke at the 2023 oil and gas stakeholders festival, with the theme: “Uniting Stakeholders-A Road Map for Energy Transition,” in Abuja.
According to him, “The federal government has tried, there are a number of billions that are in the budget of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. Talk about 13 percent derivation that goes to the Niger Delta, about 40, 50 billion every month shared to the government of the oil producing states.
“The three percent PIA that has been passed into law, one year, five months now, no implementation of it, unfortunately it is set law. I wonder what is actually happening. I may not major on the problem of illegal refinery, pipeline vandalization, or oil theft. But the people of the Niger Delta are suffering, there is no drinking water in the creeks.
“They don’t have light. No industry in the whole of the creeks. My concern is that we are not celebrating today. Look at the Naira redesign and the shortage of fuel and price of air transport today. Look at the dilapidated structures all over the country that are subject to rehabilitation.
“I want to say that we will come to celebrate when the people are happy and settled. Our children are not settled, we are having over 42,000 graduates every year from the university and 10,000 youths are not employed. As a father I am worried that my children would sit at home.
“We must think about diversification from oil and gas to agriculture, we must think about the issue of industrialization, the issue of transformation, transmogrification and so on. The people of the Niger Delta are suffering. Something must be done; the 13 percent derivation should be given to the host communities.
“Section 132, sub-section 2, cap 39 of the 1999 constitution as amended, made it very clear that 13 percent derivation is for the host community, for the loss of their farming rights. Not to any state government, it’s an error. Federal government should make haste to establish what I will tag to be the 13 percent derivation presidential implementation committee. And allow the host community to do the nomination of people.
“Let three percent PIA be onboard now, call on the host community for the nomination of people that are to be members of the Commission, let’s award pipeline surveillance to the host community, that will create jobs for the youths. Let’s go back to agriculture in terms of diversification from oil and gas to agriculture.”
In the same vein, Convener, Oil and Gas Stakeholders Festival, Ms Faith Wilkinson, admonished host communities to embrace change and deviate from the old methods to the new methods of transiting into a better economy.
She said, “First of all, I want to thank the federal government, they are trying. I want us as a host community to begin to embrace change. The world is moving from where we are now. We are talking about energy transition, solar energy, green energy, clean energy.
“If the old methods are not working for us, then I think we should begin to embrace change, so that it will be a better host community.”
On the initiatives the stakeholders have put in place, she said, “We are having post festival training, originally the program was designed to come with training for women and youths in the oil and gas industry in energy transition. But what we are trying to do is after this, we are going to have training for the women and the youths to begin to engage them on issues that are related to the industry.”
