BusinessDay 12 Apr 2018

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BUSINESS DAY
Thursday 12 April 2018
GARDEN CITY BUSINESS DIGEST
Groups lie in wait for FG’s
new oil & gas policies
•Point out areas of attention to government
•Prepare action plan to win more deals for communities and citizens
IGNATIUS CHUKWU
Civil Society Organisations
(CSOs),
oil-based trade
unions, and media
groups have
formed an alliance to press for
proper implementation of the
new oil and gas policies approved
by the Federal Government
in June 2017. The alliance
emerged in Port Harcourt after
two days of brainstorming to
understand the pitfalls in the
two bulky documents at the
strategic workshop sponsored
by FOSTER (Facilitator for Oil
Sector Transformation).
The experts numbering over
24 picked out major policy gaps
especially in the area of gas
pricing and infrastructure and
resolved to press for stricter
implementation and drawing
FG’s attention to areas that
needed fine-tuning.
The new alliance worked out
ways to drive an activist crusade
to make a difference henceforth.
The workshop was convened
by Adejumobi Fashola and
Louis Brown Ogbeifun (PhD)
from AfriTAL. Experts came
from organizations such as
Foundation for Environmental
Rights, Women Environmental
Programme, Divine Youth Initiative,
NUPENG, PENGASSAN,
KIF, NAGGOND, GASEN, etc.
It was recalled that in June
and July 2017, the Federal Executive
Council approved the
National Gas Policy and the
National Petroleum Policy
(NPP) which incorporated some
broad-based economic growth
and efficiency considerations.
In addition, the two chambers
of the National Assembly have
passed the Petroleum Industry
Governance Bill (PIGB). It is
also anticipated that the fiscal
framework for the industry is
being contemplated in a new
bill expected soon.
It was agreed that to successfully
bring about the policies
into laws and subsequently
implement them, CSOs have a
vital role to play in the natural
resource governance process. It
was however realized that the
capacity for CSOs to influence
policy enunciation, formulation
and implementation in a
highly technical area such as oil
and gas also depends on their
understanding of the key technical
issues within the sector.
The participants were
drawn from various advocacy
backgrounds including the
Media, Labour Unions and Non
Governmental Organizations.
They were split into two groups
to brainstorm, tease out advocacy
issues and engagement
strategies to accomplish the
tasks assigned. The two groups
are: Oil Policy Group and the
Gas Policy Group.
The Oil Policy Group came
up with mission strategies to
advocate for the enthronement
of an Oil Sector governed in
a way for the benefit of the
generality of Nigerians. Its key
objectives include improved
corporate relations between
host communities and oils
firms. The deliverable is to get
every oil operator within the
host community to design
an inclusive business model.
Ibe Kachukwu
They believe that peace in the
oil communities would create
stability in the industry for
maximum profitability.
The activist group outlined
activities to carry out in order
to meet the objectives as advocacy
to Ministry of Petroleum
Resources (MoPR) for
the renegotiation of new terms
in the industry; to advocate
for competitive, transparent
and accountable contractual
systems; set five months advocacy
timeline to achieve group
roadmap.
Others include to ensure
that the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources is developing a communication
strategy with the
communities; engage with
the National Assembly to pass
the Petroleum Host community
Bill; visit the community;
engage the media; facilitate
consultative meetings between
the communities and the IOCs;
examine contractual terms for
disclosures that would allow
stakeholders ask relevant accountable
questions.
These are aimed at pressing
for fiscal regime that is progressive,
transparent and accountable
to encourage investors’
interest; ensure royalty is paid
on offshore operations; press
for contractual processes are
open and competitive because
it is a major area that corruption
thrives.
The group frowned at policy
inconsistencies and somersaults,
demanding for advocacy
for strong institutions, demand
for the passage of the new policies
into laws, advocate for the
industry to be made to run
commercially and professionally,
and press for passage of the
Petroleum Industry Administrative
Bill (PIAB).
The group saw the need
for citizens’ ability to demand
accountability, and that there
should be accountability scorecards
by the communities over
government actions. They said
creating a scoring system for
what the government has done
from time to time could do this.
“There would be capacity building
for sensitization to enable
the citizens to be effective in
demanding for accountability.
We need to set up community
accountability networks”.
Highlights of the Gas Policy
Group showed that there is
no serious or bankable reference
to host communities.
“Therefore, there is the need to
identify Community liaisons
that should be properly trained
for the assigned tasks.”
They observed that there is
need for transparency in the
Gas Flare policy to, for instance,
show who is buying and where?
“There is need for infrastructure
mix and who should take responsibility
for infrastructure.
Leaving it to investors would
add so many burdens on them.”
On Gas Flaring, they observed
that the policy aimed at
ending gas flares should not be
profit-based, but rather focused
on job creation and acting as a
catalyst for industrial growth. “It
should not just be to pay for gas
flared. Government can give
five-year tax-free incentive to
gas-ending investments. Gas
is not as innocent as it looks.
The gas policy must demand
for plan for disposing toxicity
waste to the end.”
They noted that gas flare-out
incentives were not clearly outlined
in the new gas policy and
that there was need for guarantees
from the government on
amortization on local currency
fluctuations. “There is need for
gender-inclusion without the
lowering of standards.”
On pricing, it was noted
that there is the need to do
cost-reflection in Naira instead
of only in US Dollar. “At the
moment, what goes to gas suppliers
is only 30 per cent of
what the DISCOs generated.
There is need for risk guarantee
to gas suppliers. There are lots
of redundant infrastructural
facilities in the country whereas
there is the existing Trans-West
Africa pipelines which should
be maximized to reduce cost.
There is no provision for funding
and PPP clauses.”
The group noted that it
was absence of clear national
policy that saw to the $2Bn
spent in laying pipes to Abuja/
Kaduna/Kano where there are
no industries for the uptakes,
whereas there is a shortage of
gas in the South with so many
industries. “There is a ‘silos’
mentality instead of leveraging
industrial assets. There
should be proper identification
of stakeholders and allies.
There is however, the need to
know opponents that could be
turned into allies.”
Actions plans lined up by
the CSOs include creating massive
awareness on the new gas
policy and review competences
of those expected to operate the
campaigns.
Is Ifeanyi Ararume the strongest guber force for Imo 2019?
Port Harcourt by Boat
With
IGNATIUS CHUKWU
Ifeanyi Ararume
buried his father inlaw
in Amike area
of Nkwerre last two
weekends but it turned
into a huge political rally.
The crowd was simply
too large. Most bigwigs
in Imo politics struggled
fuse to return it. So it was
that the PDP had primaries
just a day to submission
deadline to INEC. It
ended in a deadlock with
Ararume. Udenwa and his
party decided to ‘dash; the
slot to Mike Ugwu, former
minister of Industries believed
to be Obj’s man,
contrary to the laws of the
PDP. Udenwa gave to the
loser and Ararume went
from court to court until
the Supreme Court ordered
it back to Ararume.
This was in the era of great
impunity of the powerdrunk
ruling party where
Obj was emperor.
Udenwa struck by
to put up presence there.
Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu,
was present and this
spoke volumes. Achike
Udenwa, who ensured
Ararume never became
governor in 2007, was
announced with huge
reaction by the crowd.
Udenwa was an important
factor in how
Ararume and the PDP
gave their banana to the
‘monkey’ and have never
been able to retrieve it
to this day. Those who
give their bananas to
monkeys for safekeeping
usually find out that the
monkey would climb to
the top of trees and removing
the PDP machinery
to the highest
buyer, Ikedi Ohakim,
then of PPA. Their belief
was that the ticket would
return soon. To their surprise,
the ticket has never
come back but poverty
has struck the party for
years. From Ohakim, Rochas
Okorocha stormed
the state and took it away
to APC. Let’s forget that
Ararume had to support
Rochas against Emeka
Ihedioha of PDP in 2015,
thus also helping to push
the banana further into
the monkey kingdom.
Now, all hands seem
to be on deck to win
back the lost paradise. If
Ararume expected whatever
deal he must have
had with the governor to
work, he may be discovering
that he needs to
fight Okorocha to get it
back because the governor
seems bent on handing
it back to his family
through his son in law. It
seems all the losers now
want to unite at last. This
must explain the loud
presence of Ihedioha at
Ararume’s home It seems
the politicians are beginning
to realize that one
per cent of something is
better than 100 per cent
of nothing. The presence
of Madumere, the deputy
governor to Okorocha,
who thought he was the
chosen one but is just
finding out the truth,
spelt volumes too.
The biggest presence
but not for Imo politics
was that of the Alabo from
Rivers State, Tonye Graham-Douglas,
many times
minister and the biggest
influence in politics in the
south-south at the moment,
with his large entourage
of chiefs and titled
men and top women.
It was as if Ararume
is the new force and the
rallying force in Imo if
power must leave