The long awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has finally been passed by the Senate after a heated debate on Thursday.
Recall that the bill, which has been a subject on the lips of stakeholders in the energy sector, has been pending since the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who led Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, but successive sessions of the national assembly failed to pass it.
The bill passed third reading after Mohammed Sabo, chairman of the joint committee petroleum (upstream and downstream) and gas, presented a report and its clauses were subjected to voice vote.
During the presentation of the report, Sabo observed that the legislation is aimed at “promoting transparency, good governance and accountability in the oil and gas sector.”
He added that the committee recommended that 30 percent of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) profit from oil and gas should be used to fund exploration of frontier basins.
“The various obsolete laws currently in operation in the country have been updated and consolidated in this chapter to meet global competitiveness and best practices,” he said.
“A total of 355 amendments were recommended to this chapter while others were retained.”
During the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill in the “committee of the whole”, the percentage that should be allocated to the host communities caused a division among the senators.
At the public hearing on the bill, representatives of the host communities demanded that they be allocated 10 percent.
Although five percent was proposed, the joint committee recommended three percent after a meeting of the senators with Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources, and Mele Kyari, NNPC group managing director.
After three percent was accepted as what is due to host communities, Thompson Sekibo, senator representing Rivers north-east, called for a “division” to challenge a ruling of Senate President Ahmad Lawan that allow that.
While some senators spoke in favour of the division, others kicked against.
Abdullahi Yahaya, senate leader, while describing it as a “bad precedent”, said his “heart bleeds” over Sekibo’s motion but pleaded with the Rivers lawmaker to withdraw his motion and Sekibo did.
Also speaking, James Manager, senator representing Delta south, said five percent was not too much for the host communities.
President Buhari had, on 28 September 2020, presented the PIB to the National Assembly for consideration.
The Bill seeks to introduce pertinent 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.
