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HOSTCOM factions reconcile, to present harmonised position on PIB

By Matthew Ogune, Abuja
04 February 2021   |   4:06 am
Factions of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) have agreed to reconcile and present a harmonised position at the rescheduled public hearing on the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB).

Senator Ita Enang

Factions of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCOM) have agreed to reconcile and present a harmonised position at the rescheduled public hearing on the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB).

The meeting was at the instance of Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Ita Enang, who convened the meeting on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 in Abuja.

At the meeting, it was agreed that a joint technical Committee of contending parties facilitated by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, would be constituted to present a harmonised position at the next hearing on the PIB.

Speaking, Enang admonished both parties to set aside their differences and have common position for the PIB, adding: “We will request using this office for the House of Representatives and Senate Committee sessions to hear our harmonised position at the National Assembly.

“We have not invited you to settle any dispute, but to shake hands with one another and move on because in the Niger Delta disagreement is a regular feature and so, we are not settling dispute”.

“I know you people do not have dispute among yourselves, because you only agree and disagree on a procedure and the disagreement passed the elbow to the ankle.”
Enang decried a situation in which the oil companies cause crisis and disaffection in the host communities, saying:

“They take your oil, desecrate the environment, abuse your children and youths, offer them instruments of self-destruction. While we keep fighting and working, they keep clapping and taking our resources.”

He stressed that under President Muhammadu Buhari, this would not happen again, insisting that the Niger Delta people would no longer be perpetually at war with themselves.

“We have agreed to come together for the purpose of defending the interest of the entire region. So, I intend to work with you and put you on the same page on issues concerning the host communities content of the PIB, to enable you present a unified presentation on what you want for the bill to become law,” he added.

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