PIB BILL: NIGERIA MAKES $40 INSTEAD OF $2500 ON A BARREL OF CRUDE OIL, ENUGU REP BERATES FG

The Deputy Minority leader, House of Representatives, Toby Okechukwu has expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s plan towards the importation of petroleum products from Niger, owing to the amount of revenue generated from unrefined crude oil, as opposed to the prices of the refined products.

This he said while buttressing a point during a Debate on the Petroleum industry Bill in the National assembly on Wednesday.

Okechukwu, who represents Awgu, Aninri and Oji river Federal constituency in the house of Representatives, also linked the Boko Haram insurgence, Agitation of IPOB as well as in the  Niger Delta, to youth unrest, as they are not gainfully engaged.

He However, was of the opinion that if Nigerian refineries were optimally functional, the crude oil ought to be refined here in Nigeria, giving the products a better market value, which inturn earns more revenue that could be channelled to Development and creation of employment opportunities for the youths.

Again, he stated that the usefulness of Coal should never be seen as expired, as this can only be obtainable in a society with dysfunctional leadership.

Coal has its relevance, so much so that, Dangote group imports from South Africa to aide their operations.

In his Debate, he said, “I want to correct the impression made by the leader, saying that the use of Coal has expired, that it’s of no use. Mr. Speaker, Hon. Colleagues, the use of Coal has expired to a dysfunctional society and leadership, as at today, a company led by one of our industrious brothers, Aliko Dangote, uses Coal, which he imports from South Africa. The problem is not the coal, the problem is with people who Superintend it.”

“If the PIB bill will cure the fact that Nigeria, today imports petroleum or intending, expressed interest as undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, that we will import petroleum products from Niger republic, if the PIB will cure that defect, then I am for it.”

“If Nigeria that has 4 comatose and non-functional refineries for three years and has been sub-optimally been operating for 10 years, if the PIB will cure this too, I am for it.”

“If the opportunities we had in the 80s, 90s, when we constructed a 5000km pipeline in this country, that transports petroleum products from all the refineries, transporting crude oil products from the Crude tank to the refineries and from the refineries to the Depots, even at that time, the area managers of NNPC, managing the Depots were like lords, if the PIB will cure this by the way of the mainstream, I am for it.”

“The Chairman Upstream said that the net value, that is when you have a barrel of crude oil, then you sell it at today, you will get $40, it the net value developing the value chain, petroleum products, ATK, PMS and other products associated with it, when developed will fetch about $2500, as at today, Nigeria is only making $40 where it ought to make $2500.”

“Sometimes you begin to wander why the North-East is restive with Boko Haram, why there is agitation in the Niger Delta, why do you have IPOB agitation, it is youth restiveness, these people are not gainfully engaged. I worked with a company in 1994 that was part of the pipeline and Depot establishment, we had lots of engineers, most of which were from Hungary and Romania, today we can’t even employ Nigerian Engineers that are available, so it is too consequential.”

”I believe that when we found Oil or established Oloibiri in 1955, optimize the output of products in 1964 in Oloibiri and suddenly abandoned it in 1978, from 1985 to 2020, is 35 years. 35 years of Non planning. We refused to make our laws to be Non-contemporaneous, we have refused to bring it up to speed.”

“I believe that law is Germane, we have our usual excuses, when the Parliament works on a bill, just one clause or one word, you undermine. Let not there be an Ambush.”

“I will tell you Mr. Speaker, if we pass the electoral bill and the PIB bill, before Easter, I will sufficiently feel that we have done a good job, because it will fundamentally alter the fortunes of this country. You will begin to wander why are we yielding to inefficiency, suddenly no sector is productive. So, I think we should strongly pay attention to this bill, we should make sure that all landmines that will come along the way should be jettisoned, thank God it is coming from the executive, they are the ones proposing it, so there would not be any reason to jettison it.”

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