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The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, holds a lot of promises for the Niger Delta region, the Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN),has said
President of ARFAN, Samuel Ayadi,who disclosed this while reacting to the signing of the PIB into law by President Muhammadu Buhari,commenced him for giving his presidential assent to the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
He said the new Act has made it statutory for oil firms to develop and involve communities where they operate.
He expressed optimism that the new legislation would be implemented to usher in a new era for oil-producing communities and stop the situation where oil exploration activities endanger fishing activities.
Ayadi implored President to prevail on the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) to pay the $3.6 billion fine imposed on it by the oil industry regulators over the 2011 Bonga oilfield spill.
He added:”We the fishermen have not yet recovered from the adverse impact of the 2020 (COVID-19) lockdown on the fisheries sector, and were excluded from the palliatives given to the agric sector to guarantee food security. We have suffered untold hardship fishing at the nation’s territorial waters since 2011 when the equipment failure from the Bonga Offshore field operated by SNEPCo discharged some 40,000 barrels of crude into the waters.”
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