Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Nigeria have advocated a public hearing on the removal of petroleum subsidy to enable President Muhammadu Buhari take a final decision.
This is part of the resolutions taken at a round-table of CSOs and stakeholders convened in Abuja by the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) on the ongoing efforts of President Buhari’s administration to reform the Nigeria oil and gas sector, with special focus on the Berne Declaration.
In a communiqué signed by the executive director, ANEEJ, Rev David Ugolor, Zero Corruption Coalition’s Lukman Adefolahan and six others, the CSOs said, “Government should sustain the ongoing reform of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and make it comprehensive.
They also urged the Federal Government to strengthen all the anti-corruption agencies and ensure they are adequately funded to enable the recovery of all oil revenue looted by Politically Exposed Persons and prosecute them as promised. The government was also urged to step up the crude oil refining capacities of the nation’s refineries to 100 percent optimal capacity utilization.
The CSOs advocated immediate review of all Joint Venture Contracts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation by the NNPC management just as they asked President Buhari to sign the 2015 Audit Bill passed by the seventh National Assembly into law.
Olanrewaju Adeoye of the 21st Century Community Empowerment for Youth and Women Initiative, Victor Emejuiwe, Centre for Social Justice, Debo Adeniran of Coalition against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Comrade Nelson Nwafor, Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy & Development, (FENRAD), Odion Timothy ( Nigeria Network of NGOs and Olukayode Majekodunmi of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, also attended the seminar.
This will be quite the fruitless hearing as PMB has already made his decision, nor do I do think a hearing is very like to change much when the president should already be up to date on these matters.