West an aide to Dickson on Niger Delta youth matters said
the provision of opportunities for host communities would meaningfully engage
youths in productive ventures and hence curb restiveness.
West who made the call in an interview in Yenagoa said
the economic interest of the host community of the NLNG in Bonny Island in Rivers
was crucial to the success of the project.
He said that the call for the protection of host
community interest was in line with the objectives of the federal government
espoused by vice President Yemi Osinbajo when he visited the region in 2016.
He said that members of the host community of the NLNG
project were being left out of build up activities for the train -7 of the
project with the symposium and sensitisation workshop on the project slated for
October 16 in Abuja.
He said that hosting the symposium outside Bonny was
against the regional interest of the Niger delta region as well as against the
local content policy as espoused by the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry act 2010..
“Hosting a workshop on the opportunities in the train- 7
of the NLNG outside Bonny Kingdom is a disservice to the numerous members of
the host community and Niger Delta region who will not be able to attend.
“There is this feeling of marginalisation of the host
community in the scheme of things and hosting the workshop outside the host
community is one of them.
“That is why I call on the Honourable Minister of State
for Petroleum to wade in and restore the confidence of the host community by
prevailing on the stakeholders to accommodate host community and regional
interests.
“Hosting such events in Bonny would have positive impact
on the local economy of Bonny and indeed the Niger Delta region and this is
part of the indices of peace and development.
“The Minister himself played pivotal roles in
facilitating the fact finding tours where the Vice President pledged to drive
the development of the region by attracting investors in the oil and gas
sector,” West said.
Mr Charles Jumbo, Spokesman for Niger Delta Youths
Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDYCPP) noted that it was worrisome rather
than encourage the hosting of the NLNG train-7 in Bonny the event was taken
elsewhere.
He took a swipe at Engr Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for failure to prevail on NLNG to consider the interests of the local communities.
“Wabote has performed abysmally low in his tenure at NCDMB, and it is worrisome, that is why we want the Minister to quickly step in and ensure that these anomalies are corrected promptly He said that the group was concerned that its efforts at
building the capacity of Niger Delta youths doing business in the oil and gas
sector to benefit from the project was being sabotaged.
“NDYCPP on our own, we are putting together a two day
event to create awareness amongst young entrepreneurs in the oil and gas
industry region on the opportunities in the multibillion dollars project.
“We have listed keynote speakers in our own workshop to be held in Bonny
so hearing that the management of NLNG is planning a similar programme for
Abuja leaves us confused
“We expect activities related to the NLNG project to be
held in the operational area to enable the economic benefits rub off on the
host community and not taken away elsewhere.
“Having a symposium on the NLNG train-7 without Bonny
people especially the traditional rulers is a drawback to the social
responsibility of the company,” Jumbo said.
Also Prince Tonye Jeminimiema, National President, Niger
Delta youths for Practical Development urged the management of the NLNG to have
a rethink and consider integrating the host community in the train-7 project.
“We want them to factor in the interest of the host
community and Niger Delta region in the project and the Minister of State for
Petroleum should intervene and give directives to Nigerian Content Board and
NLNG,” Jeminimiema said
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