After being stalled in the National Assembly for eight years, the Senate has commenced the process of breaking the monolithic hold of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on oil industry in Nigeria. The upper chamber yesterday passed for second reading, the controversial Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIB) 2016.

The Bill was first introduced to the National Assembly in 2008. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Tayo Alasoadura (APC, Ondo Central), who led the debate on the Bill, said that his committee had taken steps to eliminate the encumbrances that frustrated the passage of the initiative in the past years. The bill seeks, among others, to create efficient and effective institutions with clear and separate roles for the petroleum industry.

[b]Alasoadura said the existing NNPC would be unbundled into two commercial entities limited by shares, which are, the National Petroleum Company (NPC) and the National Assets Management Company (NAMC).

According to him, the proposed NPC will operate as a commercial entity in order to ensure efficiency across the value chain while the NAMC shall ensure maximum value for the federation through prudent management of its oil and gas investment. He also noted that the Petroleum Minister, in the new bill, shall be responsible for policy formulation and supervision of the petroleum industry on behalf of the federal government while a commission to be known as the Petroleum Regulatory Commission (PRC) would be created and saddled with regulatory functions over the industry.

The PRC, according to him, shall be the industry regulator and watchdog, responsible for licensing, monitoring, supervision of petroleum operations, enforcing laws, regulations and standards across the value chain. He explained that the committee decided to split the document into different components, as a means of ensuring that the controversial elements in the bill did not stop its passage as the case was in the previous assemblies.[/b]

The lawmaker lamented that the failure to pass the bill by past assemblies had denied the country huge investment opportunities as well as kept the country in the limbo as the oil and gas leader in sub-Saharan Africa.

His words: “The current effort has adopted a method of splitting the PIB into logical smaller pieces for submission to the 8th National Assembly, a complete departure from all prior attempts.

This way, the individual elements can be expeditiously considered and passed one after the other and where amendments are required in the future, the relevant bill can be separately considered. Several senators spoke in favour of the passage of the bill. In his remark, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, commended his colleagues for their support for the bill and nonpartisan stance they took on the matter.

Izonpikin:
Wont the proposed PRC be doing a replica job of what the DPR is doing presently


Well it is only in nigeria where demons rule us that bills like the PIB are stalled..more so it is stalled by persons who never want progress for the oil regions and communities..

sarrki:


Partially agree with you

Having said the oil community had the chance

To upturned event when they had their own son

At the helms if affairs.

He failed the region, Nigeria ,west Africa, Africa ,

World and the entire human race woefully

RZArecta:
The only reason this PIB saw a second reading is because the proposed benefit accruable to oil producing communities has been removed after much bullying by our northern masters

Izonpikin:
you mean they removed it??..

What??...are you sure??

sarrki:


Partially agree with you

Having said that the oil community had the chance

To upturned event when they had their own son

At the helms of affairs.

He failed the region, Nigeria ,west Africa, Africa ,

World and the entire human race woefully

richidinho:


So you are not aware that jonathan cannot sign PIB into law except it has been passed by the senate?

sarrki:


So he also need senate approval to fix

East west road, second niger bridge, Enugu to onitsha

Expressway and other infrastructure?

Common he failed woefully

We will judge president buhari after his tenure

RZArecta:
cool down, you'll soon see what I'm talking about in the coming days. After now, if we mine our crude by ourself make nobody complain after all the north and west mine and sell their minerals becoming stupendously rich in the process but our own na govt property yet dem no wan press us our dues well

honestivo:
If there is no specific benefit for the oil bearing communities then I don't see any need for this PIB.

KINGwax007:
OBJ's blueprints are still in use today..
Like OBJ, like awolowo...
Yorubas = intelligence

KINGwax007:
OBJ's blueprints are still in use today..

Like OBJ, like awolowo...

Yorubas = intelligence

sarrki:


Partially agree with you

Having said that the oil community had the chance

To upturned event when they had their own son

At the helms of affairs.

He failed the region, Nigeria ,west Africa, Africa ,

World and the entire human race woefully

sarrki:


So he also need senate approval to fix

East west road, second niger bridge, Enugu to onitsha

Expressway and other infrastructure?

Common he failed woefully

We will judge president buhari after his tenure

sarrki:


Partially agree with you

Having said that the oil community had the chance

To upturned event when they had their own son

At the helms of affairs.

He failed the region, Nigeria ,west Africa, Africa ,

It seems that this government is out to crush the Afonjas completely. What an irony of life

World and the entire human race woefully