PIA, a disservice to Niger Delta, says Governor Diri

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said that the Petroleum Industry Acts recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari has made the Niger Delta states and its people unsure of their place in the equitable sharing of their resources, urging the Federal Government and key players in the oil and gas industry to take steps to right the wrongs.

Speaking while declaring open the 10th Practical Nigerian Content Forum, organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Tuesday in Yenagoa, Diri explained that the essential ingredient of the NCDMB is driving local contentment.

He further explained that the bedrock of Nigerian content and the PIA is for the board to activate the tenets of its law, in engaging the oil majors appropriately, to have their offices relocated to their operational base, engage the local businesses more and consequently, take a lot of unemployed youths off the streets.

He said that the theme of the workshop “Driving Nigerian Content in the New Dawn of the Petroleum Industry Act”, underscores the fact that local companies need an empowered workforce, which when equipped, will be able to provide services and value at the highest levels of demand.

According to him, the idea of local content is about securing direct and indirect opportunities for employment and procurement to homegrown companies, as well as fostering the development of local skills, technology transfer, and use of local manpower and local manufacturing in capital projects.

He said: “Given the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act which has gotten the host communities and by and large the entire Niger Delta and in particular Bayelsa State, unsure of their place in the equitable sharing of their resources, one sure way of evolving a gratified local content equation is for the Board to activate the tenets of its law, in engaging the oil majors appropriately, to have their offices here in Bayelsa State.

“They should also engage the local businesses more and consequently, take a lot of unemployed youths off the streets. This is the essential ingredient of local contentment and the bedrock of Nigerian content and the PIA.

“The Nigerian Content Law and PIA, are analogous to the foundation and therefore, if the objectives for these Acts will be attained, it is highly essential in discussing the theme for the Forum, to be mindful of some foundational realities; including peace and security, which remain irreducible minimums, to the survival and success of businesses.

“To ensure peace and security for a conducive business climate to thrive and create a multiplier effect for massive growth in the Niger Delta the essence of local contentment must be vigorously pursued.

“There is a need to help build the local environment that supports oil and gas business. The Nembe/Brass Road is a metaphor for how the indigenes and host communities have been overlooked in the allocation of resources, even when we collectively, stand to gain more from collaborating.

“We have made written presentations to the federal government and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on the urgent need to support the construction of the Nembe-Brass Road, which is a federal project and look forward to getting a favourable resolution soon,” he said.

Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Simbi Wabote, said part of the board’s long-term initiative under the 10-year roadmap is to develop a shipyard in Nigeria.

According to him, the board has completed the feasibility study of the Brass Island Shipyard which confirms the technical and commercial viability of the project.

He disclosed that the board is focused to commission and commence operations at Nigerian Content Oil and Gas Industrial Park sites in Emeyal 1 Bayelsa State and Odukpani, Cross Rivers State, complete the engineering design of Brass Island Shipyard and embark on roadshows to secure investment partners.

 

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