Bayelsa govt seeks stake in $3.5bn brass fertiliser, petrochemical project

The Bayelsa Government has solicited for equity stake in the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company project about to begin on the Brass Island in the state.

Gov. Douye Diri made the request on Tuesday when the management team of the company paid him a courtesy visit in Yenagoa.

The Bayelsa governor said the state’s position became necessary due to the negative fallouts in excluding oil producing states and local governments from the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He said that implementation of the PIA had been hampered in host communities due to the anomaly in the legislation.

He noted that the disregard in the PIA of the Nigerian Constitution, which vests control of land in the state government, was a flaw that has necessitated calls for its review.

“Let us ensure that the state is not totally excluded from being partners in progress in this whole process. The PIA is one good example.

“When it was in its formative stages as a bill, we made a presentation through the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

“We did that after consulting with our people, communities and chiefs. But at the end of the day, our inputs were ignored and thrown overboard as the PIA excluded the oil producing states and their local governments.

“The federal government now interacts directly with the communities and that is an affront on the Nigerian Constitution. The 1999 Constitution says the land belongs to the state government and not the federal government.

“The Constitution recognises communities as under the local government and the state government. These anomalies in the PIA have made the law a time bomb.

“Today, because of the PIA, there are intra and inter-communal conflicts and litigations. So even funds that have been realised for their development cannot be disbursed to the communities.

“If anybody thinks the state is not much important, we will then wash off our hands,” he said.

The governor expressed the hope that the petrochemical company would be different and urged the management to partner the state government to correct the imbalance and avert conflicts in its host communities.

Diri, who commended the President Bola Tinubu administration for resuscitating the project, said it was long overdue.

He said that the Brass Fertiliser and Petrochemical Company was conceptualised in 2009 but gained some traction during the administration of his predecessor before it fizzled out again.