Reps Knocks Obasanjo’s ‘Oil Policy, Commends YarÁdua

 House of Representatives has described President Olusegun Obasanjo administration’s ‘oil for infrastructure policy’ as ruse, stating that there were no infrastructural developments in line with the desired objectives of the programme.
The knock came as the House also commended President Umaru Yar’Adua for his consistency with due process, noting that the present government has also been more responsive to key issues raised by some investigations embarked upon by the House of Representatives
Igo Aguma, chairman, House Committee on Gas Resources and also co-Chairman Ad-hoc committee on the investigation of Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC), its subsidiaries and the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) disclosed this at the Abuja Council office of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), while applauding  Yar’Adua for consistency with the Public Procurement Act.
While responding to a question on whether corruption had not been more endemic with the present government, he said that  “In our perception towards the responsiveness of this administration to the issues raised by investigations of the House, and its consistency to due process, it has done creditably well,”
Aguma, said with the Gas Re-injection Bill already before the National Assembly, the 2010 gas flare-out target date was realistic, explaining that over 70 percent flare-out have been achieved as a result of new measures to meeting the target.
He equally disclosed that multinational oil companies have been speeding up completion of projects in anticipation of the 2010 deadline.
  Ayo Adeseun, chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, in his contribution said that, said if the present tempo of budget implementation is sustained, over 90 percent implementation would be achieved by the end of the year; a situation he stressed would be a marked departure from past experiences.
  Speaking earlier, Eseme Eyiboh , chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, , explained that the tour was an engagement for a partnership that would work, lamenting that there has been poor public perception of the House’s activities due to poor information from the media.