Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) assented to President Muhammadu Buhari during the week has continued to generate controversies, with the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSCOM), condemning the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, for his comment, saying that he is working for his paymaster and not the Niger Delta people.

Sylva has in his comment said that the three percent fund given to the host communities was a fair deal but in his reaction, the National President of HOSTCOM, Benjamin Style, said: “Timipre Sylva is working for his paymaster. He is not standing in for the Niger Delta. We are always crying that we have been marginalised.

“Our people are there. They planted this satanic bill for us in the name of act that we are not yet grown enough to become a co-owner of the oil and gas that is in our region. We just pray that God should forgive him. He doesn’t really know what fair deal is. What is the tax they are giving to us from the main stream? I only pity our governors, our senators, and our House of Representatives members who were voted in to be there not Sylva that is working for his own pay master.

“Only three per cent from the upstream? Is that a fair deal? By making us to lose by not giving us surveillance contract? Somebody will go and sabotage and we will lose our money. Is that a fair deal? By taking away the gas flare fund meant for host communities, is that a fair deal? When the host communities will not be allowed to appoint people into the board?

“That the law says provided you are a Nigerian that has the professional capacity to be part of that board whether you are from a host community or not, as long as you are a Nigerian. Is that a fair deal? Is it also fair when host communities will not be nominated to the board? How do we arrive at the 500 million dollars, is it a static fund?

“If they have already known at this time when we know that the economy is bad. I have a lot of questions to ask. I don’t know the area where he is talking about fair deal. When our rights and privileges are taken away? Is it also a fair deal when they have ganged up to take 80% of NNPC proceeds? A lot of things begging for answer and they are being very economical with the truth. How is it a fair deal when they have deprived us of being co-owners of the business?” he said.

(New Telegraph)

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