Post Amnesty: FG Unveils Oil, Gas Body

L-R: Governor Sullivan Chime, Clerk of the State House of Assembly, Barr. (Mrs.) Ijeoma V. Okereke with the Speaker of the House, Mr. Eugene Odo, while signing the 2010 appropriation bill, at the Government house, Enugu.

To consolidate the gains of its Amnesty programme, the Federal Government, yesterday, in Abuja inaugurated a 17-man Sub-Committee for the protection of oil and gas assets within the Niger Delta region, chaired by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman.

Speaking at the maiden meeting of the Sub-Committee immediately after his inauguration, Dr. Lukman explained that the Oil and Gas Asset Protection Sub-Committee was constituted by the President to promote the implementation of the post Amnesty programme of the Federal Government.

While acknowledging the success of the Amnesty programme in bringing peace and a conducive environment for economic activities in the Niger Delta region, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman stated that the programme is mostly beneficial to Nigeria’s oil and gas industry in view of the level of crude oil production which has risen phenomenally.

The Minister emphasised that the Committee, which will use the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as its Secretariat, was primarily constituted by the Federal Government to assist by contributing to the synergy of efforts towards making the Amnesty programme a resounding success.

The Tide’s Abuja correspondent reports that the Sub-Committee will liaise with the oil companies and local communities with a view to assessing and establishing the level of security of oil and gas infrastructure and facilities such as flow stations and pipelines in the Niger Delta region.

It will determine the security needs of oil and gas companies, both upstream and downstream, as well as the needs of the construction firms with a view to advising on the strategies that need to be employed to address these security needs.

 It will also advise on the arrangements that need to be made to ensure the provision of regular surveillance and sustainable protection of the oil assets in the region.