Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has called on
the National Assembly to speed-up passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)
to promote investment and employment opportunities in the country.

Addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee
on Airforce who paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday at Government House,
Port Harcourt, Amaechi said the PIB would contribute to curbing the security
challenges in the country.

He explained that apart from the state and federal
government having a duty to fund security, passage of the PIB would pave way
for investors to invest and create employment opportunities that would address
the security challenges, poverty and unemployment facing the nation.

“The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is a law for the overall
benefit of all Nigerians to allow investors to come into the country and
invest. This is so because, if we don’t enact a law that would attract
investors, then we can’t make progress; right now investors are heading towards
Angola, we must seek ways of attracting investors,” Amaechi said.

He urged the federal government to make the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) a regulatory agency and give wider
opportunities to the private sector to participate in investment to create more
employment opportunities and tackle poverty in the country

“As Governor, I don’t know the quantity of oil NNPC produces
per day, this is why government should be a regulatory agency and allow
investors to come in, and I think it will go a long way to address the needed
peace in the country.”

Amaechi called for the amendment of the Constitution to
ensure justice and fairness to institute transparent leadership in the country.

“That is why I said, we need a state police to compliment
the Nigerian Police, we need to amend the constitution to ensure fairness and
justice, we must go above ethnic and parochial interest to guarantee
transparency in leadership,” Amaechi said.

Chairman of the House Committee on Air Force, Hon. Kenneth
Archibong commended the efforts of the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike
Rotimi Amaechi on his achievements and existing peace in the state.

“We are proud of your numerous achievements, including the
35 Patrol vehicles you donated to security formations in the state, we are not
in doubt of the sustainable peace in the state, unlike in the past, and we wish
to call on other governors across the country to emulate the enviable gesture
and performance,” Archibong said.

“You have become a role model, and your contributions to the
state and national development are practically enormous, you have done what
Napoleon could not do, and in this regard you stand tall above other governors.

“I will include in my report to the House when I return,
about your laudable achievements, and the federal government on how you
performed on capital expenditure, and I will also tell others that we have a
governor in the South-South that has made us proud,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC),
yesterday, urged the National Assembly to critically examine the Petroleum
Industry Bill (PIB) to ensure transparency and accountability in the oil and
gas sector.

The Executive Director of CISLAC, Mallam Auwal Rafsanjani,
made the call at a Media Interaction on the Nigerian Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Process in Abuja.

“ We call on the NASS to critically examine the PIB in the
light of national interest, devise an effective mechanism for harvesting the
input of critical stakeholders and the passage of the bill into law.