THE GUARDIAN

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has said the country is losing substantial investments in the oil industry due to delay in the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Okowa stated this when the Co-Chairman, National Assembly Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill, Hon. Mohammed Monguno and members of the committee visited him in Asaba yesterday.

He said investments in the nation’s oil industry would be boosted as soon as the Bill was passed, disclosed that the Niger Delta people were pleased to hear of renewed commitment of federal lawmakers towards passing the PIB.

The governor expressed delight at the inclusion of Host Communities Fund (HCF) in the Bill, saying its provision would make the people part owners of the ventures and encourage them to secure oil facilities in their domains.

He acknowledged that the committee members were in the state “for an important assignment, something that we have not been able to achieve in the last 14 years.

Speaking, Monguno, who is also House of Representatives Chief Whip, said his team visited Delta State in furtherance of the legislative processes leading to the passage of the PIB.

He said the National Assembly was working closely with the executive and other stakeholders to ensure speedy passage of the Bill.

“We have promised Nigerians that by the end of April we will pass this all-important bill and we are committed this time around to pass the bill for the good of Nigeria.

“There is need for us to reform the oil and gas sector, especially as the world is moving away from fossil fuel to renewable energy and it is important that we take advantage of the opportunities available,” Monguno said.

MEANWHILE, Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) disclosed that it received eight Toyoto SUV Jeeps from Governor Okowa, two weeks ahead of the local government election.

Spokesman of DSIEC, Arubi Orugboh, who confirmed the development in Asaba, yesterday, said the vehicles were allocated to the commission’s chairman, Mike Ogbodu, Secretary, and other commissioners.

Orugboh explained that the vehicles were not meant to bribe and or influence the commission during the election, but that all the recipients were by law entitled to a vehicle each.

He said insinuations that government bought the vehicles to induce the commission to compromise and favour the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming council election was malicious and did not hold water.