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PIA Requires Understanding, Engagement Of Stakeholders For Economic Growth – Oxfam Country Director

Published

4 years ago

December 8, 2021

File copy: Niger Delta map

Our Reporter, Asaba

The recently signed Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, requires the understanding and engagement of all stakeholders for socio-economic and human capital development of the Niger Delta region, country Director, Oxfam, Dr. Vincent Ahonsi, has said.

The country Director who made this position in Asaba, Delta State, at a recently held Stakeholders’ dialogue on the PIA, said even after signing of the Bill into law by President Mohammedu Buhari, many communities are stilling battling with understanding contents of the law hence the sensitisation and awareness.

The Stakeholders’ Dialogue was an effort to recreating more awareness and sensitising
oil producing communities from the Niger Delta region on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) with a view to discussing section of the law, highlight its importance and listen to community feedbacks.

The Stakeholders’ Dialogue was co-organised by Oxfam from the oil industry, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and National Orientation Agency (NOA) with a view to engendering ownership of the new law and buy-in of the communities in its implementation.

Speaking further, Ahonsi said that the new law seeks to promote growth and eliminate uncertainties in the legal and regulatory frameworks of the petroleum industry.

“The PIA provides the legal framework for the regulation of all the players in the Nigeria oil and gas sector. The Act has well spelt out provisions for streamlining roles and responsibilities of agencies and regulators with the proposed creation of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority as the main regulators of the downstream, midstream and upstream sectors.

“It also provides for the transition of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation to Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited. The new Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited is anticipated to operate under the guidance of a board as a commercial entity”, said Ahonsi.

The Oxfam boss also said that provisions are also made for the establishment of the Host Community Development Trust Fund to provide funding for the development of oil producing communities and mitigate the risks for conflict and restiveness in the communities.

“This ownership of, and buy-in in the implementation of the PIA will help in no small measure to facilitate a reduction in Nigeria’s debt profile, curb food inflation, reduce inequality and reduce poverty”.

“Oxfam remains committed to working with Nigeria government, the private sector and the civil society towards achieving a sustainable, inclusive and just recovery, post COVID-19 pandemic.

“Oxfam is once again using this opportunity to call on Nigeria government not to listen to IMF’s counsel that West African countries should introduce austerity measures as a way to recovery.

“Austerity measures as being advocated for by the IMF has the potential to further worsen current inequality and poverty; and its effects will be worst felt by the vulnerable and marginalized people, including women, older people, racial and ethnic minorities, informal workers and low-income families”, said Oxfam Country Director.

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We’ll Deny You Visa If You’re Traveling To Give Birth, US Tells Nigerians

Published

2 days ago

July 28, 2025

Editor

The United States Mission in Nigeria has warned Nigerians planning to travel to the US primarily to give birth to secure American citizenship for their children.

In a post on X, the US Mission stated that using a visa for the main purpose of childbirth is prohibited under US immigration policy.

“Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have U.S. citizenship is not permitted. Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent,” the US Mission said.

This warning is coming following the rising scrutiny of visa applications and growing enforcement around what is informally referred to as “birth tourism”, the practice of traveling to the US to give birth so the child obtains automatic citizenship.

Recall that the United States Department of State had also revised its visa reciprocity policy, announcing that most non-immigrant, non-diplomatic visas issued to Nigerian citizens will now be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.

The US maintained that its visa policies are based on global technical and security benchmarks aimed at protecting the integrity of its immigration systems.

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Three Dead, Several Injured As Train Derails In Germany

Published

3 days ago

July 28, 2025

Editor

Rescue forces work at the site of a derailed train near Riedlingen on July 27, 2025. (Photo by Thomas Warnack / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT / GERMANY OUT

Three people were killed and several others injured when a regional passenger train derailed in a wooded area in southwestern Germany on Sunday, police said.

About 100 passengers were aboard the train, when the accident occurred at around 6:10 pm (1610 GMT) near the town of Riedlingen in Baden-Wuerttemberg state.

Contacted by AFP, police initially said four people had been killed before correcting their statement to three victims.

Authorities declined to elaborate on the number of injured or how seriously hurt they were, though tabloid Bild cited emergency workers saying there were 50 injured.

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn confirmed several deaths and numerous injured. Two train carriages had derailed “for reasons yet unknown”, it added.

Authorities were currently investigating the circumstances of the accident, the operator said, and traffic had been suspended over a 40-kilometre (25-mile) stretch of the route.

German media reported that a landslide might have caused the accident as severe storms swept through the region, according to weather services.

The passenger train was travelling from the German town of Sigmaringen to the city of Ulm when it derailed in a forested area.

– Outdated train infrastructure –

In a post on social media, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his condolences to the families of those killed.

He added that he was in close contact with both the interior and transport ministers, and had asked them to “provide the emergency services with all the support they need”.

Footage from the scene of the accident showed yellow-and-grey-coloured train carriages lying on their sides, as firefighters and emergency services tried to get to the passengers.

According to local TV station SWR, helicopters arrived shortly after the accident to transport the injured to hospitals in the area, and emergency doctors from nearby hospitals were alerted.

German transport is regularly criticised by passengers for its outdated infrastructure, with travellers facing frequent train delays, and various technical problems.

The government has pledged to invest several hundred billion euros over the next few years, in particular to modernise infrastructure.

In June 2022, a train derailed near a Bavarian Alpine resort in southern Germany, killing four people and injuring dozens.

Germany’s deadliest rail accident happened in 1998 when a high-speed train operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn derailed in Eschede in Lower Saxony, killing 101 people.

AFP

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Man Stabs 11 People At Walmart Store In US

Published

3 days ago

July 28, 2025

Editor

At least 11 people were injured in a stabbing at a Walmart store in the Midwestern state of Michigan on Saturday, with police saying it appeared to be a random attack.

A 42-year-old male suspect was in custody, Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael Shea told a press conference.

“Based on the information that we have at this time, it appears they were random acts,” Shea said of the attack in Traverse City, Michigan.

“The victims were not predetermined,” Shea said, adding that the suspect, a Michigan resident, apparently acted alone and used a “folding knife.”

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Six victims were in critical condition late Saturday, and five were in serious condition, Munson Healthcare said in a statement.

At least three of the victims were undergoing surgery, according to Shea. The victims included six men and five women.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she was in touch with law enforcement regarding the “horrible news.”

“Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence,” Whitmer said in an X post.

Eyewitness Julia Martell told The New York Times she heard screaming and saw a man with a knife running through the store’s pharmacy section.

Martell said she saw the man shoving and stabbing people as he moved through the store.

The 30-year-old witness described seeing three people with stab wounds and “blood everywhere.”

Shea said the stabbing spree initially started near the checkout area of the store.

“It is very uncommon for our area,” he said of the violence, adding that citizens in the Walmart “assisted” in apprehending the suspect.

Traverse City is a popular tourist destination located on the shore of Lake Michigan.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said agents were providing “any necessary support to the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation of the attacks at the Walmart.”

AFP