EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
…Says FG has no plans to scrap NNPC
…We’ll pass it in record time – Lawan
…This time we’ll be thorough – Gbajabiamila
Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, on Monday said Nigeria’s mainstay, the crude oil would soon become irrelevant as the resource is fast losing its economic value to most countries.
The minister also quickly explained that the Federal Government would not scrap the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as earlier reported by some sections of the media.
Sykva explained that the government was only planning to commercialize the Corporation to make it more viable and profit oriented.
The minister made this clarification during an interactive session with the leadership of the National Assembly on the objectives of the bill, which has been submitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives for processing into law.
The Senate will make a presentation of the bill in plenary today for processing.
Recall that PIB adjudged the oldest bill in Nigeria has been in the assembly for passage in the last two decades, as the lack of the political will to pass it has made it stagnant.
The Minister appealed to the National Assembly members to ensure expeditious passage of the bill, which was targeted at helping to revolutionize the nations economy in the last days of crude oil as a major source of revenue.
He said: “let me just say that we all collectively today, have a date with history. The PIB like the Speaker said, is one of the most import pieces of legislation that this country needs now.
“It has really taken a long time in coming. The process for amending the laws around our oil industry started almost 20 years ago in the year 2000. In 2009 a draft of the PIB was submitted to the National Assembly.
“In 2012, another draft was submitted. In 2018, we all are aware of what happened with the PIB and today, 2020 we are for some reason, still discussing the PIB.
“It is for good reason, the PIB happens to be at the core of the Nigerian economy and if you are in the process of making some changes in that core you know those changes will impact on various other sectors of the economy that is why we need to really take the bill seriously.
“So, here we are at 20th year of the attempt to change but for me it is also a good signal because one of the things investors want to look at when they are coming to the environment to invest is the dependability of the legal framework.
“And since this is at the foundation of their investment, we must also make it clear to them that in Nigeria, laws do not change easily and that way investors can plan.
“Today, there is a forecast in the oil industry sector that oil is going to be playing less and less a role in the global energy usage. Some begin to think that in ten years the world’s dependence on oil would have reduced to 50%.
“At OPEC, the projection is in 2040, that is in 20 years from now, the world’s dependence on oil would have reduced to 50%. So which ever way you look at, it appears that the days of oil are numbered.
“I always tell people that coal did not finish, the deposits of coal did not run out before the world moved away from coal. Today the world is talking about alternative forms of energy, and we must also move with that trend but our focus should be in ensuring that we take advantage of our resources while it matters”.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the National Assembly has said that, it would give the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) expeditious passage, stressing however, that the lawmakers would not sacrifice thoroughness at the altar of speed.
In his opening remarks, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said that though the PIB seemed to be jinxed since 2007 and 2019, the fresh effort would surely be successfully completed.
“We want to break the jinx and we shall break it with the latest bill forwarded to us by the executive arm of government ” he said .
He however, noted that it was difficult to put a time frame on when the the jinx would be broken through the passage of the bill, saying that details of its content must be understood and thoroughly considered.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said that though the bill would be considered and passed speedily, it must be subjected to thorough scrutiny.
“Oil represents the lifewire of our Nation’s economy, making the PIB the most important piece of legislation that will come out of the 9th National Assembly in months or years to come.
“We will pass the bill speedily but not sacrifice thoroughness at the alter of Speed. We have assembled a crack team of legislators who are versed in the workings of the industry”, he said.
Advertisement
Advertisement