Nigeria: Oil Blocs Revelation - Northern Senators Caged as PIB Sails Through

ALLAFRICA.COM

VANGUARD [07/03/13]

By Henry Umoru And Joseph Erunke

Abuja — AFTER three days of intense debates and contributions on the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, northern Senators were Thursday caged by their Southern colleagues and the bill unanimously scaled the second reading.

The resolution by the Senators to pass the bill was contrary to fears from some quarters especially with the initial stiff opposition from the lawmakers from the North that it will not see the light of the day.

The passage also came barely twenty four hours after the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, PDP, Akwa Ibom North/East called on President Goodluck Jonathan to revoke and re-allocate oil blocs where he raised alarm that the Northerners control 83 percent of oil blocs in the country, leaving a negligible 27 percent for the South where the oil comes from.

Notable names like Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero; late President Umaru Yar'adua; former vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma; Sanusi Lamido; Rilwanu Lukman, among others as the owners of oil blocs in Nigeria.

The bill which passed through second reading at the upper legislative chamber, had all together 81 out of the 109 senators that spoke on it for the three days, was however referred to the Committees on Petroleum( Upstream and Downstream), Gas and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters with a period of six weeks to organise public hearings and report back to the entire house.

The Committee on Petroleum(Upstream) has Senator Emmanuel Paulker, PDP, Bayelsa Central as Chairman; Committee on Petroleum(Downstream) has Senator Magnus Abe, PDP, Rivers South/East as Chairman; Gas Committee has Senator Nkechi Justina Nwaogu, PDP, Abia Central as Chairman, while the Chairman, Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters is Senator Umaru Dahiru, PDP, Sokoto South.

Speaking after discussions on the Bill by the Senators, Senate President David Mark who presided at the Plenary said that the PIB belongs to all Nigerians and not a part of the country Senate President, just as he said that the Bill was not the North versus the south, adding that what was good for the North was equally good for the South.