The Bonny Lawyers’ Forum has demanded a transparent account of gas-flaring penalties applicable to petroleum operations affecting Bonny Kingdom, insisting that funds collected under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, should translate into environmental remediation and meaningful relief for affected host communities.
The Forum also called for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Bonny Kingdom as a sustainable medical-relief intervention for communities living within the petroleum-producing and industrial environment.
The position was contained in a statement by the Bonny Lawyers’ Forum signed by its Chairman, Pepple Victor Frederic, which commended the member of the House of Representatives representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, Hon. Cyril Hart, for bringing the issue of the application of gas-flaring penalties for the benefit of affected host communities to public attention.
The Forum said the matter should be examined from the perspective of environmental justice, host-community rights, public accountability and compliance with statutory obligations under the Petroleum Industry Act.
It specifically drew attention to Sections 52(7)(d) and 104(4) of the PIA and the statutory framework governing the application of monies received from gas-flaring penalties for environmental remediation and relief of affected host communities.
According to the Forum, there is a need for transparency regarding gas-flaring penalties applicable to operations affecting Bonny Kingdom and the extent to which the statutory objectives of environmental remediation and host-community relief have been achieved.
It asked: “Where are the gas-flaring penalties applicable to petroleum operations affecting Bonny Kingdom, particularly those arising since the commencement of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, and how have any monies collected pursuant to the statutory regime been applied towards environmental remediation and relief of affected host communities as contemplated by law?”
The lawyers stressed that the question was not an accusation of wrongdoing against any individual, company, institution or agency, but a demand for transparency, accountability and evidence of statutory compliance.
The Forum therefore called on the Federal Government, the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) and other relevant authorities to provide a transparent account of the implementation of the relevant provisions of the PIA.
Lawyers Seek Federal Medical Centre for Bonny
As part of its demands, the Forum called on the Federal Government to commence consultations with relevant authorities, the Amanyanabo-in-Council and other institutions of Bonny Kingdom, Bonny Local Government Council, petroleum-sector stakeholders and other stakeholders towards establishing a Federal Medical Centre in Bonny Kingdom.
It also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent to the Bonny Federal Medical Centre Bill, which the Forum said had been awaiting presidential assent, and ensure its implementation upon enactment.
The Forum said the proposed medical centre should serve as a practical and enduring form of host-community relief for a population living within a major petroleum-producing, gas-processing and industrial environment.
Subject to feasibility studies, environmental and health assessments, regulatory requirements and stakeholder consultations, the Forum said the facility should provide specialist and tertiary healthcare, emergency medical services, maternal and child healthcare, modern diagnostic and laboratory services, respiratory and environmental-health services, cancer screening and early detection, occupational and environmental medicine, epidemiological and public-health surveillance, as well as research into health consequences associated with prolonged exposure to petroleum-industry activities.
The lawyers acknowledged that Section 52(7)(d) of the PIA does not expressly prescribe the construction of a Federal Medical Centre as the only form of host-community relief.
However, they argued that where the law provides for environmental remediation and relief of host communities, the responsible authorities should be able to demonstrate that meaningful relief is reaching the communities for whose benefit the statutory framework was enacted.
The Forum said its demand should be viewed as an environmental justice and rule-of-law issue rather than a contest between communities and petroleum operators.
It maintained that communities hosting petroleum operations are citizens entitled to the protection of Nigerian law and that statutory mechanisms for environmental remediation and host-community relief should work in practice.
The Bonny Lawyers’ Forum said it would undertake further legal and factual examination of the implementation of relevant provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, including those governing gas flaring, gas-flaring penalties, the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, environmental remediation, carbon finance and carbon credits, and host-community relief.
It also said it would engage relevant authorities and stakeholders to obtain information necessary to determine the extent to which the applicable statutory provisions had been implemented in relation to Bonny Kingdom.
The Forum concluded by calling for the immediate commencement of a transparent, inclusive and lawful process towards the effective application of gas-flaring penalties and other applicable statutory interventions for affected host communities, including the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Bonny Kingdom.
Comments
Post a Comment
Elvira’s Pen