11 December 2013, Abuja — Former Vice President of the World Bank (African Region), Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged federal lawmakers to integrate all the needs of the poor into the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, before its final passage into law.
She made this request when the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources(Downstream), Mr Dakuku Peterside, stressed the need for an all-inclusive petroleum legislation that would not only enhance revenue generation for the country but also preserve the environment of oil bearing communities.
Ezekwesili had noted that the review had become necessary because the bill, as currently conceived, did not do enough justice to some of the critical issues in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.
They both spoke in Abuja at the public presentation of two books, “Niger Delta Environmental Roundtable- A Book of Readings” and ”African Women Can Lead,” published by the Development and Leadership Institute.
*Emman Ovuakporie, Vanguard