Barring any last-minute change in plan, the six governors in the South-West geopolitical zone will meet the Senators and House of Representatives members from the zone in Abuja on Tuesday to discuss the recently passed Petroleum Industry Bill and the Electoral Act Amendment Bill which will be debated on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday
Governors expected at the meeting include Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos).
A member of the Senate from the zone, Opeyemi Bamidele; and a member of the House from the zone, Olufemi Fakeye, announced the meeting in a statement on Monday.
The statement was titled, ‘Urgent Meeting Of South West Governors With Senators And Hon. Members From The South West’ .
It reads, “Dear Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members;
“We are directed by the Leadership of the South West Caucus in the National Assembly to communicate the invitation of South West Governors to an urgent meeting of the Governors with Distinguished Senators and Hon. Members of the House of Representatives as follows:
“Date: Tuesday, 6th July, 2021.
“Time: 7pm
“Venue: Osun Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Maitama, Abuja.
The announcement of the meeting was made after 17 Southern governors, on Monday, rejected the proposed allocation of at least 30 per cent of the profit generated by the proposed Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for the exploration of oil in ‘frontier basins’ as identified by Section 9 of the recently passed PIB.
The bill will regulate the oil sector if signed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Although the proposed law doesn’t identify the frontier basins, a statement by the President in 2019 identified the frontier basins as Chad Basin, Gongola Basin, Sokoto Basin, Dahomey Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough, amongst others.
Currently, crude oil is obtained from eight states in the Niger Delta region which include: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers States.
The recently passed PIB has been heavily criticised by stakeholders in Southern Nigeria with the Pan-Niger Delta Forum describing its provisions as “unjust, satanic and provocative”.
The PUNCH earlier reported that some powerful members of the Independent National Electoral Commission panel in the Senate had inserted “a danger clause” into the report of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
The report of the committee barred INEC from transmitting results of elections by electronic means, one which was also rejected when Southern governors met on Monday in Lagos.
