Oscarline Onwuemenyi
23 July 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The House of Representatives has disclosed plans to return some oil blocks to indigenes of the Niger Delta region, even as it threatened to revoke the licenses of some operators of oil block who erred in the process of obtaining their licenses.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Oil Prospecting License and Oil Exploration, Hon. Gideon Wani stated this on Friday at when the committee visited Belemaoil Producing Limited’s Idama platform.
Wani also said it would support the people of the Niger Delta to be fully involved in doing business on petroleum products.
He noted that it would be a form of encouragement to retrieve licenses that were not properly obtained by some companies and hand them over to indigenous operators, adding that when such licenses were revoked they would be given to people from Niger Delta region who have interest oil business.
Wani said, “We have been mandated by the House of Representatives to investigate all holders of prospecting and exploration licenses. We want to know the number of licenses and the number of companies operating with them. We also want to find out if the process of obtaining the licenses were followed.
“Niger Deltans have not been doing business in oil. We want to return some of this oil blocks to the people of this region. This is to allow people of this area to also do business. Belemaoil is in a good business to do this business because it is owned by somebody from the Niger Delta.”
He said the Committee on Oil Prospecting License and Oil Exploration License is commissioned to investigate the licensing of oil companies operating in the country.
Responding, the Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Mr Sukubo Sara-Igbe, thanked the federal house for the agitation in favour of the people of Niger Delta.
Sara-Igbe said if more opportunities were given to the people of the area to do business on oil that the agitations in the region would be tamed.
