At Last, Senate Passes Petroleum Industry Bill

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Senate has eventually passed the Petroleum Industry Bill known as PIB.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly passed the bill during the plenary on Thursday after careful consideration of each of the clauses.

The Senate, before passing the bill, met behind closed doors with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari.

The passage of the bill comes exactly 13 years after it was first presented to the National Assembly in 2008.

On September 28 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari presented the PIB to the National Assembly for reconsideration.

The bill seeks to introduce changes to the governance, administrative, regulatory, and fiscal framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, in order to ensure transparency, strengthen the governing institutions, and attract investment capital, among other objectives.

Speaking on the passage, the President of the Senate, Mr Ahmed Lawan, said the Senate expects President Buhari to sign the bill as soon as it is transmitted.

He added that the bill got the input of both the executive and legislative arms of government.

The Senate then adjourned till July 6, 2021.