Diri: ‘Definition Of Host Community In PIB’, A Time Bomb Awaiting Explosion

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri yesterday warned that the definition of a host community in the just passed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly was a time bomb awaiting explosion if not properly addressed.

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The governor also restated the position of governors of the Southern Nigeria that it was an injustice to allot three percent of oil revenue for the host communities that bear the brunt of exploration and exploitation activities.

Governor Diri, who spoke on Tuesday when he featured as a guest on Channels Television breakfast current affairs programme, Sunrise Daily, explained that prior to last Monday’s meeting of the southern governors in Lagos, the states had been in consultation with relevant stakeholders on their position, which he said was a minimum of 10 percent to oil-producing communities.

According to him, it was unthinkable and unacceptable to people of the South that a provision of 30 percent profit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was inserted in the controversial bill for “frontier exploration” in areas that were not clearly specified.