THE Senate will resume its legislative activities on the long standing Petroleum Industry Bill, which first made its way to the legislature in 2008.
The Senate Committee on Petroleum, Upstream, which is handling the bill, will on December 7 and 8 hold public hearings on the new Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIB).
Details on the notice paper in the Senate also shows that the lawmakers will, this week, deliberate on key economic reform bills in the bid of the red chamber to contribute meaningful efforts at economic recovery.
The deliberations on PIB will lay the foundation for a final return of the bill for the chamber for a clause by clause passage.
Besides the PIB, the Senate will also, during the week, conclude deliberations on six of the 11 priority economic growth and reform bills.
Some of the legislations slated for deliberations this week include the National Development Bank of Nigeria Bill; the National Road Fund Act; a public hearing on the Federal Roads Authority Act ; the Customs and Excise Reform Act; National Transport Commission Act; as well as the PIB.
Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi, who spoke on the progress of the bills so far said the Senate had steadily progressed on its desire to contribute to the process of Nigeria’s economic recovery.
He said: “Senate has been on a steady march to complete passage of the bills which forms our economic growth package before the end of the year. We have maintained all along that we would not rest until we did our part to end the recession, spur economic growth and bring relief to the people.
“People should really pay attention to the work the Senate has produced. The economic crisis provided the opportunity to work for long overdue reforms in government administration and accountability.
“The Senate seized upon the opening and now the country is on the verge of truly benefitting from the work of the NASS.”
Also, the chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Tayo Alaosoadura, and his committee members who visited the management of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Benin City, Edo state, said the endless conflicts between host communities and International Oil Companies (IOCs), which have given rise to militancy, will be finally addressed when the bill is passed.
Senator Alaosoadura revealed that “ The issue of host communities and oil companies operating there are part of what we are going to consider in the PIB. We want a very smooth relationship between the host communities and the International Oil Companies (IOCs). We have to address that issue in order to end this militancy.
“For now, we are calling on all parties to seize hostilities. The presidency is already in dialogue with Niger Delta leaders. Some of us in the Senate are also appealing. Let us use what we have now to build a viable country. All of us must put our heads together.”
The PIB is currently before the Senate and has already passed second reading. Three Senate Committees, namely, Petroleum (Upstream), Petroleum (Downstream) and Gas, are currently working on it. They are expected to submit their reports soon.
Alaosoadura, who represented Ondo Central at the Senate, made it known that some companies, currently under the control of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), would soon be granted full autonomy.
He added: “What we are interested in is to get efficient entities from what we have now. We want to set companies free and create new ones. What we are aiming at is efficiency in the oil industry. The PIB will address these issues.”
He, however, decried the current hostilities in the Niger Delta region meaning that it has drastically affected activities of NPDC, noting that: “The pipelines are old and fatigue. What are you doing to replace them and also to safeguard them to ensure that vandals do not get close to them? Niger Delta militants are criminals. We want to produce a PIB that will help the oil and gas industry at the end of the day. We want to produce a bill everybody will be happy about. We want to use NPDC to correct other irregularities happening in other areas of the oil and gas sector.”
The Managing Director of NPDC, Mr Yusuf Matashi, narrated the difficult terrain in the oil-rich areas, called on the Senate to move fast and come up with ways to end militancy. He said the hostilities were adversely affecting businesses in the area.
He said: “Faced with the challenges we have never faced before, we see this visit as a show of support. We need it now more than ever before. Since February this year, we have been faced with numerous challenges in the upstream sector. We have been forced to reduce our production by 150,000 per day. We now produce only 50,000.
“It is a big loss to the government and to the company. As a way out, we are seeking some ways out. If our business continues to be challenged, the implications will be severe. We cannot continue to bear cost without revenue. We believe that there is a solution and that solution lies with the visit of the Senate.
“The president must have his information before making such accusations that those blowing up pipelines are insiders. The pipelines of about 87 kilometres in the area are difficult for security agencies to manage.”
“If you know the worth of the pipelines, you will not get close to it. We have 55 per cent stake in the ownership of pipelines. The pipelines are over 40 year old. It is only costing us more to maintain them. When PIB is concluded, NPDC will not have to depend on NNPC to survive. PIB to break NNPC monopoly.”
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