APC, PDP unveil plans for oil sector

• Opposition party chides DSS, Police on threats by ex-militants

• N7b left in SURE-P account, contractors groan as projects stall

AS the countdown to the general elections gathers momentum, the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as a tool for repositioning the oil and gas sector formed the fulcrum of both the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).

  Both parties identified the total overhaul of the oil sector through the instrumentality of the PIB as the way to go.

  This comes as Nigerians are set to pay the price for the reduction of petrol price from N97 per litre to N87 in form of reduction in the volume of money accruing into the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). Documents exclusively obtained by The Guardian in Abuja at the weekend showed that the intervention agency is left with about N7 billion in its coffer while its over 50 members of staff face joblessness as well as many of the uncompleted projects may be abandoned as a result of cash-crunch.

  Speaking in Abuja recently at a debate organised by the Nigeria Political Parties Discussion Series (NPPDS), a platform provided by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) for political parties to engage the Nigerian public, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, blamed the continued involvement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in commercial, operational and regulatory roles for the woes plaguing the sector.

  He said that an APC government will not only unbundle the NNPC, but will ensure it publishes its balance sheet for public scrutiny periodically.

  Mohammed explained: “The NNPC is too powerful and self-regulatory. There is no way the NNPC can regulate itself. It should concentrate on operations.”

  He added that the alleged corruption perception in the sector might not go away until government hands off the sector entirely.   

  Mohammed, who pledged that within 12 months of an APC-led government, the party would ensure the passing of the PIB and push for reforms that will transform the oil and gas sector, also said that an APC government will encourage elected officials indicted for corruption “to put aside their immunity, even for the sake of their names.”

  But a PDP stalwart, Katchi Ononuju, opposed APC’s plan for guided deregulation of the oil and gas sector. He reiterated his party’s commitment to ensuring the reform of the sector through the PIB.

  Ononuju, who eulogised PDP’s policy of deregulation of the oil and gas sector, said that the party stands for total removal of the fuel subsidy.

  His words: “We will continue to fight to liberalise the oil industry. We are very happy to state today that there are a lot of Nigerians involved in oil and gas. The PDP believes in using what you have to gain the advantages that you seek rather than the old strategy of the military government of conquering and blundering.”

  While the debate may not be an end in itself, the Nigeria Programme Co-ordinator of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRNI), Dauda Garuba, said the debate provides the electorate a unique opportunity to hold victorious party accountable base on their promises.

  He said: “Nigerians have the opportunity to watch out for signs that the victors are drifting from campaign promises. Signs of such failures would include non-deployment of a clear policy after swearing-in, non-funding of a new policy where it is deployed, or the missing of identified targets. Citizens must hold their rulers to account for their natural resources. To this extent, the statement by   Mohammed that the ‘hallmark of democracy is not just to provide infrastructure for the people but the power of the people to show a red card to a government that is not performing’ becomes apt and imperative. That same red card should be shown to any opposition party that fails to convince the electorate that it can do better. It is to this extent that citizens have a collective responsibility to help deepen the roots of Nigeria’s democracy and strengthen oil and gas governance by remaining vigilant and engaged.”

   In another development, the APC yesterday expressed concern over the inaction by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police over threat by ex-Niger Delta militants to wage war on the country should President Goodluck Jonathan lose the poll in a fortnight.

  In a statement issued by Mohammed, the party observed that the loud silence by the security outfits on the threats of war by ex-militants was a clear case of double-standard and lack of fairness.

  The party said it is insightful to note that the same security agencies that reacted with hysteria to the harmless comments by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State have suddenly lost their voices when the former militants threatened to wage war on the nation.

  The APC said the implication of the conspiracy of inaction by the DSS and the police is that under the administration of President Jonathan, there are different rules for different Nigerians, wondering how the security agencies can be trusted to provide a level playing ground for all political parties before, during and after the forthcoming general elections.

  ‘’For supporters of President Jonathan, there is no law, there is no police, there is no DSS. Their support for the President is a licence for lawlessness and irresponsibility, and if at all there is any law, they remain far above such law. That is why they could dare the entire nation by issuing such treasonable comments and get away with their action. 

  ‘’On our part, the fact that the DSS and the police, both of which have issued their last warnings against those making inciting comments, have failed to move against the war-mongering ex-militants is a confirmation of what we have always believed: that national institutions have been deployed in the pursuit of partisan, rather than national interests under the Administration of President Jonathan”, the APC further said.

 Sensing the danger ahead occasioned by cash-crunch, the sub-committee of SURE-P noted: “The sub-committee wishes to draw the attention of the committee on the prevailing economic circumstances and dwindling resources for the SURE-P programme, especially in the area of social safety nets which particularly target the poor and vulnerable. The sub-committee wishes to also bring to the fore the recurrent under-funding of the MCH programme and the existing liabilities within that programme. Furthermore, we note that with respect to the HIV intervention, placing people living with HIV on treatment has long-term life-long implications. The commitment made by government in placing people, including women recruited into treatment through PMTCT therefore has to be sustained.”

  The sub-committee expressed worries over the existing liabilities in the MCH programme in appropriating funds in the current year and the dangers of interrupting treatment in people living with HIV that creates resistance and complicates the HIV treatment programme as well as the consequences on the lives of those on treatment.