PIB:Ogoni Youths Hail Minister Over Comment

The Ogoni Youth Federation, (OYF) has hailed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, for demanding for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law in mid 2020.
A press statement by the Ogoni apex youth body commanded the minister’s move describing it as a show of complete good faith.
According to the group, the future of the petroleum industry and, indeed, the country depends on it.
“We believe in the PIB bill because it will help in solving the developmental issues in the Niger Delta and ensure lasting peace. The passage of the bill would also help to sanitise the petroleum industry and enhance the development of the oil bearing communities,” the group stated.
The Ogoni youth noted that the performance of Chief Sylva in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources had been impressive, saying he has raised the bar of performance through strategic efforts in addressing rated issues.
The body, however, urged the minister to address the stalemate between the Ogonis and the federal government over decades of alleged social, economic and environmental injustice committed against the Ogonis by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).
The statement, which was signed by the National Coordinator and President of the body, declared that; “Whist we commend the Honourable Minister for resolving the two year protracted disputes between SPDC and host communities of OML 25 facilities in Kula Kingdom of Asari-Toru Local Government of Rivers State amicably, we urge him to use his good office to address the decades of stalemate between the Ogoni people and the Federal Government of Nigeria over social, economic and environmental injustice, which till date have generated a lot of international concerns, leading to the shutdown of oil and gas operations in Ogoniland for upwards of 26 years since the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) was declared persona non grata in 1993.”
It added that: “the resolution of this debacle (OML 11 Ogoni Fields issues) is crucial as it would pave way for a smooth re-entry into Ogoniland for the purpose of resumption of oil and gas production and avail the youth and other critical stakeholders of Ogoni, the opportunity to benefit from their God given resources.”

Taneh Beemene