LAGOS DECEMBER 10TH (URHOBOTODAY)-The Pan Niger Delta Development Forum, PANDEF has made a clarion call to President Bola Tinubu to revamp the sea ports in Niger Delta region  now that the budget for the year 2026 is being prepared.

The Group noted that it is a sin to concentrate all landing containers in Lagos Seaport, leaving all the ports in Niger Delta region such as Warri port, Sapele Port, Koko port, Burutu port,  Port Harcourt and Calabar port to waste and rotten away.

PANDEF in a statement signed by the National Spokesman and  National Publicity Secretary Chief( Dr.) Obiuwevbi Ominimini made available to Urhobotoday said, “We are calling on President Tinubu to show the difference and do the needful to revive all these ports. Revamping all these ports shall step up the economic activities of the people of Niger Delta Region, the region that feeds Nigeria with oil and gas but benefits nothing in return.”

The Group equally urged the Federal Government to revisit the Petroleum Industrial Act (PIA) because it does not favour  the people of the Niger Delta region.

“ Section 257 provides that when there is vanderlization of oil facilities, the money shall be deducted from Host community development fund. But the PIA Provides in section 236 that when the Oil Exploration companies (SETLORS) fail to comply with the PIA or delay to implement the PIA provisions(s), the SETLORS is made to pay 2,500 USD to the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on daily basis. Such money should have been paid to the host communities who suffer the noncompliance by the SETLORS  instead of NUPRC that is charged by the PIA to oversight the SETLORS.

“NUPRC is now condoning the SETLORS’ noncompliance because it serves as a source of revenue generation to NUPRC. Since the Inception of the PIA to  date,  so many Host Communities board of Trustees (BOTs) and management committees (MCs) have not received the distribution martix from the SETLORS, which shall enable the BOTs and MCs to award development projects to the oil bearing communities or Host Communities,” the statement explained.

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