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By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Speaker of House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila has stated that members of the Green Chamber are set to pass the much-talked-about Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by April.
Gbajabiamila made the announcement while speaking at a public hearing on the Bill, organised by the House ad hoc Committee on PIB on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to him, “This public hearing allows all stakeholders to contribute to the Bill for an Act to provide legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, the development of host communities, and for related matters.
“It is an opportunity for all of us to collaborate to improve this Bill, so when it becomes law, it will serve the best interests of all our people.
“The process of engaging with stakeholders will continue beyond this public hearing to accommodate the diversity of interests and ensure all critical views form part of the deliberations that inform the final legislation.
“We must first make sure our oil and gas industry is more productive, more efficient and more profitable at a time of declining global profitability,” he said.
Gbajabiamila explained that the PIB, when passed would address peculiar and localised concerns in ways that will allow the oil and gas industry to compete more effectively globally.
He said that Nigeria would borrow from what had worked for other countries and implement uniquely to suit the current needs locally.
The lawmaker said that the PIB was a necessary step towards reorganising the sector to respond to the new global reality of decreasing demand and the diminished profitability of fossil fuels.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Silva who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, expressed happiness that the Bill was about to be passed after 20 years of its introduction.
He said that both chambers of the National Assemble have shown sustained determination to pass the Bill.
Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari said that crude oil would still be relevant in the world in the next 30 years.
He said that the passage of the Bill would ensure the needed vigour and transparency.
