As part of the on going efforts to engender an enduring harmony in the party, the leadership of the Labour Party has set up a three man intervention and truce committee to bridge the gap in the relationship between it and the members of the National Assembly.
The Committee members include, Hons Ben Etanabene (Chairman), Mathew Nworgu and Chinedu Obika.
Inaugurating the Committee, Monday at the party’s National headquarters in Abuja, the National Chairman of the party, Barrister Julius Abure, tasked the lawmakers to liaise with the Labour Party legislators in both chambers of the National Assembly, with a view to identifying and resolving all the challenges in the relationship between the lawmakers and the party.
Abure said, “We have invited you and entrusted you with this very all important assignment of bringing together all our members in the National Assembly, both in the Senate and House of Representatives for the purpose of bridging the gaps and resolving all issues that may have existed.
“There is need for all our members, about 40 of you to be on the same page with the party leadership. You are our ambassadors at the National Assembly and we are proud of some of you and the values you have exhibited but we think there are still some gaps that needed to be plugged, hence the urgency for this assignment.
“We expect that within two weeks from today, you would have concluded the assignment and report back to the leadership of the party. We can assure you that the party will do all it can to ensure that enduring truce is achieved within the party and particularly with a key stakeholder such as the NASS caucus.”
In their response, the three lawmakers pledged their loyalty to the party leadership and assured the leadership of their desire and willingness to take the assignment very seriously.
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Reps seek rehabilitation of oil, gas pipelines across Nigeria
By Joshua Egbodo
Abuja
The House of Representatives has called for urgent rehabilitation of the nation’s oil and gas pipeline network, as it on Tuesday, resolved to constitute an Ad hoc committee to investigate their state, including causes and impacts of frequent vandalisation.
The committee is also expected to assess the adequacy of existing security and maintenance measures in safeguarding national petroleum infrastructure, and to examine the effectiveness of past and present government interventions aimed at protecting the pipelines.
The House further mandated the panel to engage stakeholders, including the NNPCL, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), National Security Agencies, oil companies, host communities, and civil society organisations, with a view to recommending sustainable solutions.
This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion jointly sponsored by Hon. Muhammed Bello Shehu and 14 others, noting the urgent need to carry out the rehabilitation “to avert economic loss for Nigeria”.
Presenting the motion on behalf of his colleagues, Shehu recalled that between 2018 and 2023, Nigeria recorded over 7,000 incidents of pipeline vandalism, resulting in the loss of $12.74 million worth of crude oil, adding that in October 2024, crude oil supply to Shell’s Forcados Terminal was reduced by 50% due to sabotage.
“In January 2025, a major pipeline spill from a facility owned by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary caused environmental devastation in the Niger Delta, worsening pollution and economic hardship for host communities.
“The deterioration of oil and gas pipeline networks not only threatens Nigeria’s energy security but also undermines the country’s potential sustainable economic development”, he stated.