By Elvira Jordan
The Bonny Lawyers’ Forum has demanded a transparent account of gas-flaring penalties applicable to petroleum operations affecting Bonny Kingdom and called for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in the area as a sustainable host-community relief intervention.
The Forum made the demands in a statement signed by its Chairman, Pepple Victor Frederic, commending the member of the House of Representatives representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, Hon. Cyril Hart, for drawing public attention to the application of gas-flaring penalties for the benefit of affected host communities.
The lawyers said the issue should be examined within the framework of environmental justice, host-community rights, public accountability and compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
They specifically cited Sections 52(7)(d) and 104(4) of the Act, which they said provide the statutory framework for applying monies received from gas-flaring penalties to environmental remediation and relief for affected host communities.
The Forum 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 these provisions.
It specifically questioned how gas-flaring penalties arising from petroleum operations affecting Bonny Kingdom since the commencement of the PIA in 2021 had been applied towards environmental remediation and host-community relief.
The Forum stressed that its demand was not an accusation of wrongdoing against any individual, company, institution or agency, but a call for transparency, accountability and evidence of statutory compliance.
Call for Federal Medical Centre
As part of its demands, the Forum urged the Federal Government to commence consultations with relevant authorities, the Amanyanabo-in-Council, 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 it said was awaiting presidential assent, and ensure its implementation upon enactment.
The Forum said the proposed facility would provide a sustainable form of medical relief for communities within Bonny’s petroleum-producing, gas-processing and industrial environment.
It proposed that, subject to feasibility studies, health and environmental assessments, regulatory requirements and stakeholder consultations, the centre should provide specialist and tertiary healthcare, emergency services, maternal and child healthcare, diagnostic and laboratory services, environmental-health services, cancer screening, occupational and environmental medicine, public-health surveillance and research.
The lawyers acknowledged that the PIA does not expressly prescribe a Federal Medical Centre as the only form of host-community relief. However, they argued that authorities should demonstrate that meaningful relief is reaching communities covered by the statutory framework.
The Forum described the matter as one of environmental justice, accountability and the rule of law, insisting that communities hosting petroleum operations are entitled to the protection of Nigerian law.
It said it would undertake further legal and factual examination of the implementation of relevant provisions of the PIA, including those concerning gas flaring, gas-flaring penalties, the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, environmental remediation, carbon finance and carbon credits, and host-community relief.
The Forum said it would also engage relevant authorities and stakeholders to obtain information on the implementation of the statutory provisions in Bonny Kingdom.
It ultimately called for an immediate, transparent and inclusive process to ensure the effective application of gas-flaring penalties and other applicable statutory interventions for affected host communities, including the proposed Federal Medical Centre.
