Thursday, 7 March 2013

Nigeria: Fireworks in Senate Over Petroleum Industry Bill



Daily Trust (Abuja)
BY ISIAKA WAKILI, 6 MARCH 2013

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Petroleum Industry Bill
The Senate's debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) yesterday sparked a rift between northern senators and their counterparts from the Niger Delta region.
The second reading of the bill witnessed a technical hitch as all the senators in the chamber first observed that copies of the lead debate given to them were different from what Senate Leader Ndoma-Egba was reading. Senate President David Mark quickly asked Ndoma-Egba to hold on for 10 minutes for the errors to be corrected.
After the lead debate was finally read, Mark asked if there was any senator from Borno and Yobe states that would like to contribute to the debate.
Senator Alkali Jajare (PDP, Yobe South) rose up to say a lot of issues in the bill ought to be streamlined. He specifically faulted the provisions seeking additional 10 percent revenue for oil-producing communities and the "wild and excessive" powers proposed for the petroleum minister.
Senator Ahmed Lawan (ANPP, Yobe North) said he supported the bill with "massive reservation" because Section 9 of the bill, rather than addresses the needs of Nigerians, merely makes oil-producing states to see other states as parasitic states.
"We must search for oil wherever we can find it. Oil should be explored across the nation. Development should be targeted at people. How can certain states, after taking about N11 trillion in the name of derivation for 10 years tell us they haven't got enough? So far, the NNDC has got N2.8trn, amnesty programme in the Niger Delta has just gulped N250bn enough; while the north has got nothing. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. There should be no provision for the Host Community Fund in this bill. Those of us from non-oil producing states are tired. Nigeria belongs to us all and the oil belongs to Nigerians," Lawan said.
Senator Lawan drew the ire of Niger Delta senators when he cited an editorial from ThisDay newspapers which linked the lack of development in the region to the failure of the state governments there.
Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South) cut in, saying "Senator Lawan should be careful and conscious of his utterances. How can he say governors in the oil producing states are a failure? Our standing order forbids senators from using insulting language."
Mark quickly waded in, saying "Lawan just quoted a newspaper to say that monies meant for the oil producing communities have been misappropriated and that if this is the case, those governors should be regarded as a failure. Manager, I therefore ruled you out of order."
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP, Bayelsa) tackled Mark by quoting Order 56 of the Senate Standing Rules which, according to him, forbids senators from reading newspapers on the floor of the Senate. "The Order 53 (2), which Lawan cited, only allows a senator to read extracts from books, not newspapers," Lokpobiri said.
But Mark warned thus "we should allow this debate to flow freely. Lawan can make reference to newspapers as he has done."
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (PDP, Delta North) argued that some senators were dwelling on the perceived defects of the bill and disregarding its strengths because they were ill-informed. According to him, the 10 percent host community fund will not short-change any state as it is just the net profit of the oil companies emphasised in the bill.
Senator Isa Galaudu (PDP, Kebbi North) out opposed the bill, saying "I disagree that the Host Community Fund won't affect what goes into the Revenue Consolidated Fund. I disagree because it is tax deductable which means that portions of it will short-charge the beneficiaries of the Revenue Consolidated Fund."
Senator Benedict Anyade (PDP, Cross River North), who described the criticisms trailing the bill as both genuine and "icono-political," expressed concern over the perceived failure of oil producing states' governors to justify the spending of the N11trn spent in Niger Delta in the last 10 years.
Anyade however asked his colleagues to rise above emotions and sentiments and allow the 10 percent revenue proposed for the host communities which, according to him, are in deplorable conditions.
Also against the bill on account of the proposed Host Community Fund and the "excessive powers for petroleum minister" are Senators Ibrahim Gobir (PDP, Sokoto East), Danladi Sankara (PDP, Jigawa North-West) and Abubakar Bagudu (PDP, Kebbi Central).
Senator Nkechi Nwaogwu (PDP, Abia) warned that the crisis in the Niger Delta would be escalated if the host communities are denied the proposed 10 percent oil revenue; while Senator Elen Esuene (PDP, Akwa Ibom) simply said that the host communities should not be allowed to suffer.
Senator Bukola Saraki (PDP, Kwara Central) warned against focusing on issues dividing the Senate on the bill, saying though "the bill cannot stand the test of time; we should work on it to make it better. Let's move away from all the controversial issues in the bill."
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Wednesday, 6 March 2013

PIB Debate: North controls 83% of oil blocs


By HENRY UMORU & JOSEPH ERUNKE
ABUJA—Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to revoke and re-allocate oil blocs, saying that the northerners control 83 percent of oil blocs in the country.
Senator Enang said this yesterday, when discussions on the new Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, entered its second day on the floor of the Senate in reaction to the position of Northern Senators on Tuesday that allocation from the oil revenue has been mismanaged by the Niger Delta region.
Enang, who represents Akwa Ibom North/East, said it was imperative for the Federal Government to look at the way oil blocs were distributed, with northerners dominating ownership in the country.
He explained that the bill was good because it makes it easy for all the laws governing the petroleum industry to be seen in one volume and body of laws referred to in one Act.
He said it was better than a situation where the Petroleum Act, Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Associated Gas Re-injected Act, among others, are found in different volumes of laws, made in different dates and possibly with conflicting provisions.
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Blocs, oil fields, firms
He also revealed that eminent Nigerians benefited from the distribution of the oil blocs. He named late President Umaru Yar’Adua; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero; former Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman; former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma from 1999-2003 and also Chief of Army Staff (1975-1979).
Others are Alhaji Aminu Dantata; Col. Sani Bello; Alhaji Mai Deribe from Borno State; Mallam Sanusi Lamido; Alhaji Saleh Gambo; Emeka Offor; Mike Adenuga; Yinka Folawiyo, among others.
Senator Enang said in his paper: “Cavendish Petroleum, the operators of OML 110, awarded to Alhaji Mai Deribe of Borno State (North-East), nets an average of about N4 billion monthly;
Seplat/Platform Petroleum, operators of the ASUOKPU/UMUTU marginal field with Mallam Sanusi Lamido as a major shareholder and director.
“South Atlantic Petroleum Limited, SAPETRO, established by Danjuma, who is also the Chairman of ENI Nigeria Limited. SAPETRO partnered with Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, TUPNI, and Brasoil Oil Services Company Nigeria Limited to become operators of the OPL 246.
“AMNI International Petroleum and Development Company is owned by Colonel Sani Bello of Kotangora, Niger State. They are operators of OML 112 and OML 117. A former Petroleum Minister and former OPEC Chairman, Rilwanu Lukman, another northerner, manages AMNI oil blocs and with very key interests in the NNPC/Vitol trading deal.
“Oriental Energy Resources Limited, a company owned by Alhaji Indimi, runs three oil blocs: OML 15, the Oldwok field and the Ebok field. Alhaji Aminu Dantata’s Express Petroleum and Gas Limited operates OML 108; OML 113 allocated to Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Limited is owned by Alhaji. W. I. Folawiyo.
“OPL 291 was awarded to Starcrest Energy Nigeria Limited, owned by Emeka Offor, which was sold by Starcrest to Addax Petroleum. Emeka Offor still has a stake in Addax operations in Nigeria.”
Continuing, he revealed that “Mike Adenuga’s Conoil is the oldest indigenous oil exploration industry in Nigeria with six oil blocs; Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Gambo’s North East Petroleum Limited is the holder of the OPL 215 license.
“NOR’EASTER Petroleum was awarded the blocs OPL 276 and OPL 283 and closing thereupon a Joint Venture Agreement with Centrica Resources Nigeria Limited and CCC Oil and Gas; and INTEL is owned by Atiku Abubakar, Yar’Adua and Ado Bayero and has substantial stakes in Nigeria’s oil exploration industry, both in Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe”
We’re more concerned with sharing than baking — Sen Kaka
The debate on the PIB would be concluded today, where it is expected to sail through the second reading and subsequently referred to the relevant committees for further discussions.
On his part, Senator Sefiu Kaka said funds generated from oil have not been utilised judiciously by the country.
Kaka said: “I support with mixed feelings in the sense that when we look at where we were in 1999, when the price of crude was about $10 per barrel, and from then till 2005,when the price rose to $147 per barrel, we appear to have been failing the nation by not utilising the money judiciously.
“We are rather more concerned about the sharing of the cake rather than how to bake the cake. It seeks to bring together 16 enabling Acts guiding our monoculture product.
“We are still going ahead to increase the cost of governance by expanding the Act of governance of that important sector. The power being sought for the minister of petroleum, which is a transient position, should be looked at critically so that we don’t give too much power to government institution which is the life wire of the economy.”
‘Reduce governors’ allocation’
Senator Danjuma Goje said: “I was one of the people completely opposed to the bill. But from the trend of the debate, it looked like the Senate is ready to do a thorough job without fear or favour. For this reason, I will join others in asking that this bill be considered while the contentious positions are addressed.
“Speaker after speaker agreed that powers of the minister are enormous. It is necessary that the power be reduced so that whosoever is the minister is not a super minister.
“We should make definite provision for the funding of expansion of exploration frontiers. The allocation going to governors should be reduced.”
For Senator Barnabas Gemade, he argued that corruption has denied Nigeria the opportunity to develop, saying “there is a common adage that wherever you find oil, corruption comes in and whenever you find diamond, war comes in.
“This has been proven beyond doubt. That is why there was war in Liberia and corruption in Nigeria. There is oil everywhere and if we play lips service in the development of oil fields, we would be left in the cold.”
Senator Chris Anyanwu said there was need for the Federal Government to tackle oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism in the country.
She said: “Nigeria is a big player in world’s oil production. PIB is important, not only to Nigeria but entire world. $10 billion worth of oil theft was recorded in 2012.
“It is done through bunkering but major quantity goes through pipeline vandalism because communities are angry over the activities of their leaders and oil companies. Last year, the Navy destroyed 3778 illegal refineries.
“The element I like most in the bill is the host community fund because it removes the motive for crime. It gives them a sense of belonging and ownership but the fund is not as bad as people thought yesterday. Brazil gives 18 percent to host communities.
“Until the PIB is ready and people know that their investment is safe, they will not come to Nigeria. I will advocate that we extend these elements to other sectors.
“In Zamfara State, so many children were destroyed due to illegal mining of lead. The Bill should advocate a similar court to deal with crime in the oil sector.”
On his part, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin said: “Section 191 of the bill gives the President awesome power to grant oil or petroleum license. It does not state what the special circumstances or percentage of licenses the President has power to grant.”
“We’re on the right path”
Also contributing, Senator Akin Odunsi said: “I will expect that the debate is to be conducted in a most pragmatic manner. With the consensus building up, I believe we are on the right track towards ensuring that we deliver a bill that will lead Nigeria on the right path. There are areas we must pay special attention to.”
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, while contributing to the discussion, said there was need to reform the oil and gas sector to ensure transparency and accountability.
Also contributing, the deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi, PDP, Bauchi Central, said: “The 10 percent host communities’ funds law is not implementable.”
He added: “I accept the spirit behind the need for reform of oil and gas sector because of lack of transparency, accountability and lack of accurate figure of the magnitude of crude oil that is lifted from the country on daily basis.”
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Saturday, 2 March 2013

In Nigeria’s Largest City, Homeless Are Paying the Price of Progress



Samuel James for The New York Times
Children scavenge through the remains of a demolition site in Lagos in search of scrap wood to sell. More Photos »
By 
Published: March 1, 2013
LAGOS, Nigeria — The young man with the crowbar stood on a heap of rubble — planks, pallets, remains of pots, bits of cardboard, wisps of clothing, chunks of concrete — indistinguishable from every other pile in a field of debris stretching far into the distance.
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“This is the home I am staying in before Fashola demolished it,” said John Momoh, 28, looking down at the pile, referring to the governor of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola. Mr. Momoh, a driver, searched doggedly for anything salvageable — a nail, a board — in the mess.
Government backhoes came in and plowed through Mr. Momoh’s simple wooden dwelling and some 500 like it last Saturday, instantly making homeless perhaps 10,000 of Lagos’s poorest residents and destroying a decades-old slum, Badia East. For days, residents wandered the chaotic rubble-strewn field, near prime Lagos real estate.
They were dazed and angry. Small children slept on the muddy ground. Men climbed the mounds of rubble, searching. In intense heat, women, men and children said they were hungry and sleeping outside. The government had destroyed their present, they said, without making any provision for their future.
“I lost everything,” Mr. Momoh said. “We are trying to bring out some sticks, to look for our daily bread,” he said, poking the rubble. “We don’t have money to eat.”
A 30-year-old cook, Kingsley Saviouru, said: “They demolished everything. They didn’t give us anything. We are here, suffering.”
Under Lagos’s energetic governor, much lauded in the international financial media, this crowded megalopolis of high rises, filthy lagoons, fierce traffic jams and sprawling slums, home to perhaps 21 million people, has proclaimed its ambition to become the region’s, if not Africa’s, premier business center.
Infrastructure and housing projects abound, including a light-rail network whose trestles already vault crowded neighborhoods, and a vast upmarket Dubai-style shopping and housing development built out into the Atlantic Ocean, inaugurated last week by former President Bill Clinton. A new Porsche dealership has opened in the financial district.
In this gleaming vision, the old Lagos of slums has an uncertain future. Two-thirds of the city’s residents live in “informal” neighborhoods, as activists call them, while more than one million of the city’s poor have been forcibly ejected from their homes in largely unannounced, government slum clearances over the last 15 years, a leading activist group says.
Last summer, there was a brief outcry when government speedboats bearing machete-carrying men cleared out the floating neighborhood of Makoko, making some 30,000 people homeless. At the vast city dump at Ojota, where thousands eke out a living, shacks are cleared out frequently, residents complained.
The Nigerian government’s untender approach to its poor, who account for at least 70 percent of the population, was again on full display last Saturday at Badia East, where even more demolition — another 40,000 live there — is now threatened. The scene Saturday was classic: a black police vehicle pulled up early, armed, uniformed policemen sprang out to quell any restiveness, and the backhoes went to work under the eyes of dismayed residents, slashing through thin wood and concrete block.
Street toughs — called “Area Boys” in Lagos, and often employed by the state government’s demolition squad for around $10, activists said — got busy where the backhoes could not penetrate, smashing flimsy structures with sledgehammers and, Mr. Momoh and others said, stealing residents’ possessions.
Many said they were given 20 minutes, at most, to pack up their belongings.
“Everybody was running helter-skelter,” said a resident, Femi Aiyenuro, adding that those who went back in to retrieve possessions risked being beaten with rifle butts and batons. “They started beating people.”
What little that could be salvaged was piled along a railway line running along Badia’s edge.
“They were flogging me,” said Charity Julius, 27 and pregnant. She said she ran into her dwelling to fetch her baby boy, and once he was safely out, she ran back to gather as many possessions as she could. The police did not like that and beat her, she said, showing a bruise on her right arm as evidence.
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The Lagos state commissioner for housing, Adedeji Olatubosun Jeje, provided a different version of events.
“It’s a regeneration of a slum,” he said. “We gave enough notification. The government intends to develop 1,008 housing units. What we removed was just shanties. Nobody was even living in those shanties. Maybe we had a couple of squatters living there.”
As for the new housing, “there’s not a chance they can afford it,” said Felix Morka, executive director of the Social and Economic Rights Action Center, a local economic rights group, adding that Badia residents earn under $100 a month on average. The World Bank had previously included Badia on a list of slum communities for upgrade, Mr. Morka noted.
That list is now moot. Within six hours, Badia East was gone.
“We don’t have anywhere to stay,” said Joy Austin, a mother of three. “Everybody is outside now. We don’t have anywhere to go.”
Her sleeping accommodation is now a filthy foam mattress placed on cardboard, in the mud; her children sleep under low torn mosquito nets.
A wig pokes out of the rubble; nearby are a few bras, a child’s toy gun, some CDs, a torn shirt, a crushed shampoo bottle, and some flip-flops. At the edge of the rubble-field, small boys played makeshift table tennis on two boards placed atop jerrycans while a young man pushed a wheelbarrow of salvaged wood with a small Nigerian flag tied to it. In the evening, boys who clambered barefoot over the upturned, nail-studded boards received painful wounds.
Mr. Morka, a Harvard-trained lawyer who is challenging the state government in court over the demolitions, said: “They want a Lagos that looks good, that feels good, that glitters. But they are well aware that Lagos is Lagos because of the people that live here. They are doing this without regard for the people who live here.”
That sentiment — that the government had, bewilderingly, declared open season on its own people — permeated the Badia residents.
“I don’t know the reason why they do all this,” said Ms. Austin, as other residents crowded around. “I don’t know why they break everything. We don’t expect it, now. People were still sleeping. We didn’t pack up anything.”
Mr. Aiyenuro, a security guard who said he had built his house himself, said: “We had thousands of people living here. Now, everything is destroyed.”
Nobody said they were leaving the area. “There’s a misguided belief that if you demolish the slum, they will just go back to the village,” said Megan Chapman, an American lawyer who works with Mr. Morka. “It’s completely untrue. They don’t just disappear.”
Here and there, hot anger at the governor, Mr. Fashola, flashed out of the crowd.
“We’re not criminals!” shouted Peter Patersoa, a 39-year-old bricklayer and father of a one-month-old. “Fashola is doing wrong work! He’s not doing good in Lagos State.”
Another crowd gathered. “We are hoping in God to favor us,” Mr. Aiyenuro said. “Please, we are suffering.”
A version of this article appeared in print on March 2, 2013, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: In Nigeria’s Largest City, Homeless Are Paying the Price of Progress.



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Friday, 1 March 2013

Nigeria's President Jonathan 'eligible for 2015'


Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on 27 February 2013Goodluck Jonathan was first sworn in as president in May 2010

Nigeria - Troubled Giant

A high court in Nigeria has ruled that President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to stand again for president in 2015.
Nigeria has a two-term limit for presidents and Mr Jonathan began serving his first full term in 2011.
But he led the country from early 2010 following the illness and eventual death of then President Umaru Yar'Adua for whom he served as deputy.
A presidential aspirant from within the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) had argued that this disqualified him.
The Abuja High Court dismissed the argument made by Cyriacus Njoku's lawyer that under the constitution the same person could not take the oath of office three times.
The PDP and its presidential candidate have won every election since military rule ended in 1999.
Last month, Nigeria's four main opposition parties merged to form All Progressive Congress (APC) party in order to challenge the PDP in two years' time.

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