Dibiagwu’s Bills: Connecting Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta And Oru West Federal Constituency Into The Mainstream Of NDDC
By: Ihejirika Benedict Chidi (IBC)
The primary function of every legislator is to make laws. This duty has been the core essence of Rt. Hon. Eugene Okechukwu Dibiagwu in the 10th Assembly of the Nigeria legislature.
Since his entrant into the National Assembly, 2023, he has sponsored impactful bills that will shape the smooth administration of the oil and gas producing states and the inclusivity of the oil rich Federal Constituency in Imo State, in particular.
Precisely, in 2023, Hon Dibiagwu in his purposeful adventure in the National Assembly quickly swung into action by sponsoring purposeful and impactful bills.
One of such bills is:
“An Act To Amend The Nigerian Oil And Gas Industry Content Development Act, Cap N124A, Laws Of The Federation Of Nigeria 2004, To Provide For State Offices, And Other Matters Connected there with.
In his move for the Bill, he moved “Be It Enacted By The National Assembly Of Nigeria As Follows;
1) The Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act( In This Bill Referred To The “Principal Act”) as amended set out.
2) Establishment of The Governing Council Of The Board Section 71.
1). There is established for the Board, the governing council(in this Act referred to as the Council) which shall conduct the Affairs of the Board.
2). The Head office of the council and the Board shall be located in any of the oil and gas producing states of the Federation.
3). The council may establish branch office of the board in any of the oil and gas producing states of the federation.
In this Bill, Dibiagwu sought to alter it through the;
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 71 thus – proposed section 71 to now read as;
1). … Retained.
2). “The Head office of the council and the Board, shall be established and located in Bayelsa State of Nigeria”.
3). The Council shall establish state offices in all the oil and gas producing states of the Federation.
4). “The oil and gas producing states of the federation for the purpose of the statutory requirements in subsection 3 of this section include; Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers.
3). Composition of the Council: section 72. The council shall consist of ——–
a) Chairman who shall be the minister of Petroleum Resources
b) A representative of:
i) Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
ii) the agency in charge of technical regulation of the industry.
iv) Petroleum Technology Association Of Nigeria
v) Nigeria Content Consultation Forum
vi) Council of registered Engineers of Nigeria
vii) National Insurance Commission
viii) National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency
ix) National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency and
x) Niger Delta Development Commission
c). “a” representative of the soil and gas producing states of the federation —- Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers.
D). “The Executive Secretary who shall serve as the secretary of the Council provided that, the chairmanship of the council shall be rotated amongst the oil and gas producing states in alphabetical order.
In proposing this Bill, Hon Dibiagwu cited that, this bill shall be cited as the Nigerian Oil and Gas in Content Development Act, Amendment Bill 2023.
This Bill hopes to amend the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in order to restructure the institutional framework and to strengthen the law for purposeful existence and performance.
In the Niger Delta region, we all know that, there has been growing concerns about the position of IMO STATE in the system. Imo state looks like one that’s sidetracked from the activities of the commission, mostly in the leadership composition. The state has never produced a chairman nor a director of the commission. With the proponents of this bill that seeks inclusivity and equity in allocation of leadership, the state hopes to become fully integrated into it.
The bill which equally seeks to make participation equitable amongst the oil and gas producing states, sought to ensure that, citation of permanent state offices are not optional but a must do. The import remains a huge beneficial price for the state who seem to have been overwhelmed alb initio.
Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Oru-west Federal Constituency in particular, who are the goose that lays the golden egg in Imo State, will benefit greatly from the bill once passed. This time, they will not only be members that represent Imo State in the board but will have the opportunity of producing a substantive chairman or director of the board.
The heightened stress of renting an apartment for the business of execution and administration of the commission will be over. The era of traveling out of the state for certain official engagements will be limited to functions to those that have to be at the headquarters. Inconveniences earlier created with this ambiguous adventures will be eliminated.
Jobs will spring up from this alterations since more work force will be created to man the new and anticipated office when fully in place.
Dibiagwu’s knack for legislative excellence is balanced. As he seeks to make oversight actions feasible in the Constituency, he equally balances it with the core essence of legislation, not only legislation but one that truly reflects the yearning of the people.
