Mkpoikana Udoma
10 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt — The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, has called on Nigerians to prevail on their representatives at the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill into law.
Obono-Obla in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Port Harcourt lamented that activities in the country’s oil industry were shrouded in secrecy, but the passage of the PIB will ensure transparency in the sector.
The Legal Adviser said lawmakers take Nigerians for granted because people do not mount pressure on them.
He added that rather than heap blames on President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians should put pressure on their State Governors and on their representatives at both state and National Assembly.
“We have the PIB pending in the National Assembly, Nigerians should demand the quick passage of the Bill by members of the National Assembly.
“That bill is intended to deregulate the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and make it more transparent so that Nigerians will really know what is happening.
“That industry is shrouded in secrecy, me myself I don’t even understand what is happening in the industry.
“Because we don’t prevail on our Senators, they take us for granted, we should mount pressure on them since they are representing us.
“We should be able to ask them (Lawmakers) what have you done concerning the PIB or any other bill, we should not be heaping all the blames on the president.”
Obono-Obla who was the Chairman, Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, also said one of the achievements of the Buhari-led administration was the stoppage of fuel subsidy payment, which according to him, was a huge drain on the nation’s economy.
“The government has unbundled NNPC and we have seen improvement, for two years now we have not seen a shortage of petroleum products.
“We have seen the withdrawal of fuel subsidies where so much money was fraudulently spent as a subsidy, but today there is no longer subsidy and products are everywhere, yet people will come out to ask what we have achieved in the last two years.
“One of our achievement as a government is making products available to Nigerians, also stoppage of subsidy payment that was a huge drain on the national economy.”
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