Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), a Benin-based Civil Society Organisation, leading a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations in the country on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has berated the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, over her alleged request for a ‘secret meeting’ with members of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) on the controversial oil industry reform bill.
The minister had also at a forum in Lagos last week hinted that a new bill would be sent to the Senate to ensure that the right version gets to the lawmakers. These developments, THISDAY learnt followed a recent startling revelation by a member of national assembly that there was no PIB currently before the National Assembly. Senate President David Mark also stated recently that there were various version of the bill before the Senate.
However controversies surrounding the conflicting reports, sources hinted might have prompted Minister’s request for a closed-door meeting with the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream).
But reacting to the said request, following a question by a member of the committee, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who wanted to know why the minister did not mention the PIB in her submission to the committee over what her ministry planned to do next fiscal year, the NGO said the ‘secret meeting’ with the senators showcases the unending opacity, lack of transparency and accountability that had become the signpost of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, in spite of its being the first country to sign on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
"We are appalled by the request of the Minister of Petroleum Resources to brief members of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) over a simple demand by Senator Abaribe, who merely requested her to tell the committee what the government wanted the Senate to do with the bill that lapsed with the sixth Senate.
Asking for a ‘secret meeting’ with the senators showcases the unending opacity, lack of transparency and accountability that has become the sign post of the Nigerian oil and gas industry in spite of its being the first country to sign on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)," says the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor.
He added: "This is not an era of secrecy in government. Secrecy gives room for conspiracy against citizens. The controversy that has trailed the PIB is enough for all issues concerning it to be put in the public domain and let's debate them. We expected the minister to give a straight answer to the question posed by Senator Abaribe and not to request for a secret meeting to provide what ought to be an innocuous answer. The bill is not about the heritage of one individual or a group of friends. It is about the commonwealth of Nigerians. A bill or law is a public, not a secret document so the process of formulation of such a document must be open and transparent in line with democratic norms.
"It is for these reasons that we want to urge the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) to make the meeting with the minister public because all previous secret meetings around the Bill have not yielded any result. We fear that if policy issues as vital as the PIB are discussed in secret places, then our quest to achieving vision 20:2020 economic blue print will be a mere wishful thinking”.
Pointing out that the PIB aimed at bringing about sweeping reforms that would place our oil and gas industry at par with other civilised oil producing nations of the world, ANEEJ insisted that discussing such an issue in secrete rooms “smack of unseriousness, unpreparedness and weak disposition to face the monster in the oil and gas industry".
"For reforms to be meaningful to all stakeholders and for the reformist to be taken seriously, the process must be open and transparent”, the group added.
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