The Senate on Thursday passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) exactly 13 years after it was first presented to the National Assembly in 2008. The House of Representatives had earlier passed the all-important oil industry bill to the excitement of Nigerians.
The Upper legislative chamber passed the bill during the plenary on Thursday after careful consideration of each of the clauses.
According Channels Television, the Senate before passing the bill met behind closed doors with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.
President Muhammadu Buhari, had on September 28, 2020, presented the PIB to the National Assembly for reconsideration.
The Bill seeks to introduce changes to the governance, administrative, regulatory, and fiscal framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, in order to ensure transparency, strengthen the governing institutions, and attract investment capital, among other objectives.
President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan said the Senate expects President Buhari to sign the bill as soon as it is transmitted.
He said that the bill got the input of both the executive and legislative arms of government. The Senate has adjourned till July 6, 2021.
The Senators on Thursday began to consider the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) following the presentation of a report of its Joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream); Petroleum (Upstream) and Gas Resources chaired by Senator Sabo Mohammed (Jigawa South-West).
According to Mohammed, the PIB is designed to update and replace the outdated provisions with a more comprehensive and current petroleum industry law that aligns with global standards.
The PIB, he further added, seeks to empower institutions and not individuals, remove bad governance which leads to inefficiency and corruption in the Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
According to Channels Television, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, speaking on the PIB said it will create an enabling environment for investors to come in and invest in Nigeria’s oil sector.
Omo-Agege however suggested that the equity share holding of companies be increased beyond five percent as contained in the report of the committee.
On gas flaring, Omo-Agege was opposed to the use of penalty funds in development of frontier gas basins, stating that such funds should be channeled into developing affected communities.
He noted the communities are the ones affected by gas flaring, and therefore whatever funds are raised from penalizing companies involved in gas flaring should be used for remediation purpose in affected communities by providing them hospitals and roads, among other basic amenities.
But the Senator representing Niger East, Senator Sani Musa, however deferred on the observations made by Senator Omo-Agege, and urged to the lawmakers to desist from rancour so as not to impede the passage of the PIB.