Two chambers of National Assembly – Senate and House of Representatives – have on Thursday passed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) after two decades.
House of Representatives first passed the bill, before the Senate followed suit.
In the House, Chairman of Adhoc Committee on the PIB, Rep. Mohammed Tahir Monguno moved for the consideration of the motion at about 1.00pm.
The bill was passed during the plenary on Thursday after careful consideration of each of the clauses.
The Senate before passing the bill met behind closed doors with Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, and Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari.
The passage of the bill comes exactly 13 years after it was first presented to the National Assembly in 2008.
Mongunu said;
That the House do consider the Report of the Ahoc Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill on an Act to Provide Legal, Governance, Regulatory and Fiscal Framework for the Nigerlan Petroleum Industry, the Development of Host Communities; and for Related Matters, 2021 (HB. 1061) and approve the Recommendations therein.
Members unanimously passed the 319 clauses of the report of the bill to make history.
The PIB had spent about 20 years at the National Assembly, failing to be passed by previous assemblies before the House passed it on Thursday.
Then on September 28 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari presented the PIB to the National Assembly for reconsideration.
By Thursday’s development, the third reading of the bill will be a mere formality soon to be done by the House.
Reacting to the action of the House, the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, described it as a “landmark achievement.”
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.
Among the highlights of the legislation is the three per cent of the revenue generated by oil companies for the host communities. South-South lawmakers had however advocated 5 per cent.
Senate President, Ahmed Lawan said the Senate expects President Buhari to sign the bill as soon as it is transmitted.
He added that the bill got the input of both the executive and legislative arms of government.
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan congratulated the lawmakers, saying the 9th National Assembly had achieved “one of its fundamental legislative agenda. The demons (of PIB) have been defeated in this Chamber. We have passed the bill”
The Senate then adjourned till July 6, 2021.
