Petroleum Industry Act Is A Travesty Of Justice, Says Moghalu

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has said the Petroleum Industry Act signed by President Muhammadu Buhari is a travesty of justice.

He described the provision in the Act to give 30% of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s profit for frontier exploration and give 3% to host communities as stealing resources from the Niger Delta.

Reacting to the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill by President Buhari on his verified Twitter page on Wednesday night, Moghalu said it was a perfect example of Nigeria existing in the mind of certain cabals simply to service vested interests.

The 2023 presidential aspirant said the country needed to be constitutionally redesigned to avoid fostering injustice.

He tweeted, “The Petroleum Industry Act as finally passed and signed by President @MBuhari (over the objections of state Governments) is a travesty of justice! Giving 30% of @NNPCgroup profits for “frontier exploration” and 3% for host communities is stealing the resources of the Niger Delta!

“This a perfect example of Nigeria existing in the mind of certain cabals simply to service vested interests. If some militants react by bombing pipelines now, @NGRPresident will shout “terrorism”! This country needs to be constitutionally redesigned, else we are simply fostering injustice and avoidable conflict. This 30% “frontier basin exploration” is only one of several aspects of the bill that are wrong and unconstitutional.”

Nigerians had reacted to the passage of the PIB by the National Assembly in July, with many groups urging President Buhari not to assent to the Bill.

Among those who rejected the Bill were  governors under the umbrella of the Southern Governors’ Forum.

The governors had demanded 5% instead of the proposed 3% share of oil revenue to be allocated to host communities, as recommended by the House of Representatives.

They also rejected the ownership structure of the proposed Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

However, Buhari appended his signature to the Bill on Monday, making it a law and that particular action has stirred more controversy, with several groups in the Niger Delta kicking against the signed Act.