PIB: Niger Delta Youths Warn Buhari, Threaten To Withdraw Their “Social License” If..

PIB: Niger Delta Youths Warn Buhari, Threaten To Withdraw Their “Social License” If..

The three to five percent equity shares granted to oil host communities in the Petroleum Industry Bill recently enacted by both chambers of the National Assembly have been rejected by Niger Delta youths.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that during a protest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, on Monday, the youth groups said that the region had been “robbed of its rights and entitlement after sixty-five years of oil discovery, exploration, sacrifices, and devastation of their environment in the region.”

Solomon Lenu, one of the protest leaders who read out the youngsters’ position, warned to cease collaboration with oil multinational firms if President Muhammadu Buhari signed the law.

In the interest of peace and justice, Lenu demanded “ten percent equity shares” for the host communities.

He also stated that the region is concerned that it will be “worse off than we were under this regime that looks to be uncaring about the collective life and future of the people, despite the fact that the keys to the economic engine that keeps Nigeria running are housed in our backyard.”

Other protest leaders who spoke with the journalist threatened that if the President goes ahead and “accents” the bill, the youths will remove their “social license” for the oil firms in the region.