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| Rt. Hon. Aniekan Bassey, Speaker, AKHA |
By Ifiok ITIABA - Uyo
Akwa Ibom House of Assembly has ordered NNPC to take steps towards moving DPR, NAPIMS and ExxonMobil headquarters to Akwa Ibom State.
This was sequel to a motion brought before the House by member representing Ini State Constituency, Rt. Hon Emmanuel Ekpenyong Bassey during Thursday plenary.
The motion titled 'RELOCATION OF HEAD OFFICES OF DEPARTMENT OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES (DPR) AND NATIONAL PETROLEUM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES (NAPIMS) TO AKWA IBOM STATE'.
Leading the debate,Hon Emmanuel Ekpeyong said the issue of Akwaibomites not having the presence of oil producing company headquarters in the state,he said,
"Akwa Ibom State contributes about 33 % of Nigeria’s daily volume of oil production and is by far the highest oil producing State in Nigeria".
Ekpeyong stated that oil and gas remained the lifeblood of the nation’s economy for decades which accounts for over 85% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
The lawmaker drew the attention of the house to the hazardous consequences of oil company activities to the people thus:"adverse environmental impacts ensue from crude oil and natural gas production such as air and ground water pollution, damage to flora and fauna, exposure of biota to contaminants and other health and physical hazards and these adverse effects are borne by the people of Akwa Ibom State".
Mr Ekpeyong decried the fact that crude oil and natural gas production has forced indigenes of the state out of their ancestral lands while destroying thier timeless and priceless aretefacts and relics.
He listed many oil producing states in the country that have hosted and enjoyed the presence of those oil multinationals headquarters"
Bayelsa State hosts the head office of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB); Rivers State hosts the head office of the Niger Delta Development Commissions (NDDC) and refinery; Delta State hosts the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI); Edo State hosts the head office of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC); saying, there is no oil industry federal presence in Akwa Ibom State".
The legislator assured the house that the relocation of DPR and NAPIMS to Akwa Ibom will have a multiplier effects on the economy of the state while creating multifaceted job opportunities for the people.
In his remarks Speaker, Rt Hon Aniekan Bassey said that the action of ExxonMobil was delibrate attempt to deprive Akwaibomites of so many rights, he promised to set up joint committees to that effect,he then mandated the clerk of the house to communicate the house resolutions to appropriate authorities.
He said NNPC should take immediate steps to move DPR and NAPIMS to Akwa Ibom State and ExxonMobil should move it's headquarters to Akwa Ibom State.
A copy of the resolution should be forwarded to His Excellency Muhamadu Buhari, the president of the federal republic of Nigeria and the national Assembly.
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