Bishop Okah Speaks on PIB

The immediate past National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Bishop Simeon Okah, has frowned at the three and five per cent approved by the lawmakers, as Host Communities Development Trust Fund in the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.

Okah stated this while speaking to newsmen, the cleric noted that the Niger Delta region would not accept the three and five per cent, adding that the least percentage that should have been approved by the NASS would have been ten per cent in the interest of fairness, justice and unity of the country.

He urged the lawmakers not to treat the people of the region as ‘beggars’ despite the revenue it generates for the country. He, however, lauded the lawmakers for the passage of the bill while pointing that the people of the region were not happy with certain sections of the bill.

According to Okah, the founder and presiding Bishop of Flock of Christ Mission in Delta State, he said; “I congratulate them for doing a good job with the passage of the bill. I say a good job because the bill (PIB) has been around for a long time.

“However, something that’s very bad which the whole South-South is unhappy about is the three and five per cent which both chambers separately approved. Three per cent would be nothing if it were about 10/15 per cent, fine.

“They should not treat the people of the South-South as if we are begging them for something. It’s the money from the South-South that is running the whole economy (at least 80 per cent). So, it’s very unfair and unjust. At least, it should be 10 per cent but for me, it should be 15 per cent.”

The Cleric further stated that he has sued for peace and pleaded with the militants who have threatened to resume hostilities in the region, not to carry out such planned attack.

He charged the Buhari led the government to speed up the development of the region and meet other genuine demands by the agitators as well as the immediate inauguration of a substantive board for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

“I have pleaded with the boys not to resume hostilities. I’m saying it from the depth of my heart, the APC government has been very unfair to the South-South where the oil is being drilled. We are the ones who begged the militants not to do that right now because it won’t help the economy.