PIB: We hope 9th Assembly will keep its word —Stakeholders

Stakeholders in the petroleum industry have continued to call on the National Assembly to accelerate the passage of  the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), with many expressing hope that the 9th Assembly will pass it before the end of this  quarter, just as was promised by its key officials.

This came after legislators had promised to work to tighten loopholes and bolster Nigeria’s earnings from its natural  resources. Part of the reasons for renewed hope that the almost two decades of waiting would likely end, could be  attributed to the recent comments from the Senate President Ahmad Lawan who, while addressing journalists recently,  vowed that the National Assembly was ready to confront and defeat the ‘demons’ that had militated against the passage of the PIB bypassing the legislation this year.

“PIB is like a demon. People both from within and outside the country are ready to work against it as they have been doing for the past 14 years but the Ninth Senate and by extension, the Ninth National Assembly, will defeat the demon with the current bill before both chambers. The patriotic zeal, sheer determination and unity of purpose by serving senators across party lines, to do this, latest by the end of the first quarter of this year, will be deployed on the bill immediately the Senate resumes the way it did with Deep Offshore Oil Production Sharing Contracts Act (Amendment)  Bill.

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“By the grace of God, immediately we resume, we will start work on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). It will be a great one not only for Nigeria but the entire world because that will change our economy. That is what we intend to do with the PIB, we will pass the PIB that will ensure that businesses here get a very competitive environment, that they are able to make a profit and stay and even invest more.

We promised Nigerians that we are going to achieve that by the grace of God in the year 2021,” Lawan said. This statement has emboldened stakeholders across all sectors that the necessary change in the industry may, indeed, be in sight. Samuel Akinola, a petroleum engineer, speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, gave insight as to why the passage of the bill is long overdue.

He said, “it is very clear that the petroleum sector needs a revamp. We cannot keep using old methods and expect new results, especially in this day and age. The PIB is the major instrument that could be used to address most of the numerous challenges we have in the petroleum sector. It is very important that the government and the National  Assembly work together to ensure that the bill is signed into law as quickly as possible.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

PIB: We hope 9th Assembly will keep its word —Stakeholders