The House of Representatives on Wednesday held the inaugural public hearing on the oldest piece of legislation in Nigeria, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the House had on Tuesday passed the bill for second reading and referred it to the committee for public hearing.
In his remarks at the hearing, Tahir Monguno, the Chairperson of the ad-hoc committee on the PIB vowed that the oldest piece of legislation would be passed by first quarter 2021.
The development though cheering, the world is fast going beyond fossil fuels ten years from now.
Just last week the United Kingdom (UK) announced that it was going to finally jettison the use of fossil fuels to save its environment.
Most countries in Europe equally fall within this category planning to end use of fossil fuels in the next decade.
Monguno, who is also the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, explained at the inaugural hearing that oil exploration may stop in another 25 years due to the advent of renewable energy.
He said for that reason, the house will ensure that the bill is passed this time despite previous failures.
“As you are aware, the journey to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill commenced in 2007 when it was first introduced on the floor of the House.
“However the passage of the bill has evaded three successive Assemblies i.e the 6th. 7th & 8th Assemblies
“I am particularly alarmed that though the exploration of fossil fuel in Nigeria date back to the 50s but it is not to say that we might exhaust the deposit, but that the entire world is focusing on research to develop renewable energy that could turn out to be cheaper and environmentally friendlier.
“That is why it has become expedient, more than ever to leverage on this window of opportunity that the oil exploration present to us as Nigerians, by ensuring that the Petroleum Industry Bill is passed without further delay.
“In spite of all the effort of the preceding administrations to diversify our mono economy, the oil industry still remain the mainstay of our country.
“Every time there’s significant fluctuations in the price of crude oil, all other sectors of our national lives suffer”.
The Petroleum Industry Bill seeks to provide for Legal, Governance, Regulatory and legal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the Development of Host Communities and for related matters.
Recall that the PIB started its sojourn in Nigeria as far back as the year 2000 by the Olusegun Obasanjo led administration to quickly fix the lack of legal framework for the oil sector.
But 20 years after, the bill has remained in abeyance, seeing four presidents from 2000 through 2020.
