Daniel Kanu

24 July 2009
Lagos — Governors of the six states of the South-South geopolitical zone resolved unanimously last night to distance themselves from the amnesty deal granted militants in the oil-rich region by President Umaru Yar'Adua unless the Federal Government withdraws the new Petroleum Industries Bill which is before the National Assembly.

Rising from a marathon meeting in Asaba, Delta State, the governors took a swipe at the Federal Government for what they called anti-people policies of the administration. In a four-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, they stated that the Minister of Petroleum, Rilwanu Lukman, is anti South-South. Beside the Petroleum Industries Bill which they claim is anti-community and a slap on the long-suffering indigenes of the zone, they also frowned at the proposed relocation of the University of Petroleum from Effurun, Delta State to Kaduna.

Sources at the meeting informed Daily Independent that the Governors are equally irked that President Yar'Adua did not articulate any definite post-amnesty plan for the Niger Delta.
"They resolved to meet the President on Monday with their demands before the Bill comes up for debate on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday. Their demands are straightforward and unambiguous. They are demanding that the University of Petroleum be brought back to Effurun; that the Petroleum Industries Bill which takes away the total royalty of the people of the Niger Delta without recourse to the environmental hazards suffered by the people be withdrawn immediately. They are also demanding a post-amnesty programme for the region," said our source.

The meeting was attended by Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo State), Liyel Imoke (Cross River State) and Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta State). The Governors of Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states sent delegations to the meeting.

The new Petroleum Bill which erodes all benefits to the communities by canceling the five percent, 25 percent and 70 percent allocated to the community, state and federal government respectively in the old Bill has ruffled many feathers in the region which continues to bear the brunt of the hazards of oil exploration in the country. The Governors contend that the substitution of the old Bill is an act of insensitivity.

allafrica