The Senate has passed the Petroleum Industry Bill known as PIB.
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 the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, and the Group Managing Director of the 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.
On 28 September 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari 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.
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.
The Senate then adjourned till July 6, 2021.
Drama as Reps finally adopt report
The House of Representatives on Thursday finally adopted the report of the House Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill, otherwise known as PIB despite rumblings from the opposition.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports the consideration of PIB by the House of Representatives took a dramatic twist as lawmakers were denied the opportunity to make contribution on it.
The deputy speaker, Idris Wase apparently reading a prepared script waved all the shouts of point of ‘order’ by opposition lawmakers as APC lawmakers started shouting carried as the DS reads out the clauses.
All attempts by Hon Sergius Ogun to convince PIB chairman committee Hon Tahir Monguno fell on deaf ears as the shouts of ‘order’ and carried rent the air.
The drama however started when immediately after PIB committee chairman finished his presentation, the DS who midwifed the Committee of the Whole after Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila stepped down for him started reading the clauses.
No lawmaker was allowed to input anything and this didn’t go down well with opposition lawmakers who felt the age long tradition of at least giving them the opportunity to say one or two things was not followed.
This led to a rowdy session as PDP Reps were busy shouting point of order, APC members also were shouting carried as the DS reels out the 319 clauses.
Except for Clause 240 SS2 that was deleted as pointed out by the PIB chairman all the clauses were carried.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila hailed the committee and promised that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill too will be treated before the annual recess .