[TNG NASS Snippets] How Senators, Reps allegedly collected dollars to pass controversial PIB

This week’s TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) weekly snippets highlight the following stories:

*How Senators Reps allegedly allegedly collected dollars to pass controversial PIB

*Uproar as group alleges Senate cleared FCC Chairman with doubtful credentials

*Reps move to ensure no Nigerian president, gov, lawmakers defect without losing seat

*Loading: Onochie may be endorsed as INEC commissioner this week

…may take a bow

…Senators receive $7000 while Reps got $5000 each

…few Niger Delta lawmakers rejected the largess

Members of the National Assembly allegedly collected $7000 and $5000 respectively to pass the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill otherwise known as PIB heavily tilted to favour a section of the country.

A source privy to this development told TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) that lawmakers collected this money to look the other way as copies of the report only reached most lawmakers after the Bill was considered and adopted.

In the Senate attempts by the Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, Senator George Sekibo and other Niger Delta Lawmakers to get a fair share of 10 percent in the Bill fell flat as the Senators considered and adopted the controversial Bill.

TNG recalls that on June 28 few days to when the PIB was slated for consideration, northern governors and key northern leaders met at the outskirts of Abuja close to Zuma Rock under the guise of a retreat allegedly sponsored by a government owned multi national company where the deal was sealed.

The following day all the southern lawmakers met at Transcorp Hotel in Abuja and the stage to fix PIB was set.

During the consideration, most members had no copies of the Bill as all the clauses were announced by the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase as the All Progressives Congress, APC endorsed all the clauses except one clause.

The Deputy Speaker, apparently reading a prepared script waved all the shouts of point of ‘order’ by opposition lawmakers as APC lawmakers started shouting carried as the Deputy Speaker reads out the clauses.

All attempts by Hon Sergius Ogun to convince PIB chairman committee Hon Tahir Monguno fell on deaf ears as the shouts of point of order ‘order’ and carried rent the air.

A further probe into the matter, revealed 30 percent was inserted for frontier states for exploration and additional 10 percent while oil host communities got 5 percent actually led to the hushed consideration and adoption approach.

The source also explained that”what this has translated to is that a section of the country without oil has 40 percent while communities that have oil may eventually get a meagre 5 percent, what an irony.

“Their position is that the South South has NDDC, Amnesty Program and 13 percent derivation, if you add all these together is not up to 40 percent so technically they benefit more than those that have oil in their domain

“The truth is that many of us only saw copies of the report after it has been considered and adopted before its passage, it’s sad because before now we see reports 24 hours before its considered but in this case nobody saw anything.

“They collected dollars to mortgage their conscience both southern and northern lawmakers except for a few who turned it down because they are from the region most affected.

All attempts to reach the House of Representatives spokesman, Hon Ben Kalu and his Senate counterpart, Basiru Ajibola proved abortive as both did not respond to calls and text messages sent to them to react on the allegation.

A group under the aegis of iYouths and Leadership Initiative have
berated the Senate for shoddiness in the clearance of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) who presented questionable certificates.

The group also blamed the Department of State Security Services for lack of due diligence in their screening of the FCC chairman.

Reps move to ensure no Nigerian president, gov, lawmakers defect without losing seat