• Monday, November 18, 2024
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PIB: Nothing wrong in Buhari as Minister of Petroleum -Senate President

Petroleum Industry

Petroleum Industry Bill

The Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 on Tuesday scaled second reading at the Senate. This as the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, said there was nothing in wrong in President Muhammadu Buhari serving as the Minister of Petroleum.

Speaking during the debate, Lawan said, “Every minister works for the president. If the president chooses to be minister, it is within his power.”

He spoke before adjourning the plenary till November 24 for the defence of the 2021budget by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The Senate after the debate by Senators across party divides mandated its committees on Petroleum Downstream , Petroleum Upstream and Gas, to make required legislative inputs into the bill within a time frame of eight weeks.

Emphasising the needs for proper scrutiny by the committees, Lawan said, “We must ensure that the PIB provides a win-win situation for Nigerians and investors.

” This is one bill that is sensitive, if we make any wrong, it will boomerang.”

In his lead debate on PIB, the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (APC Kebbi North), said the objectives of the bill were to create efficient and effective governing institutions, with clear and separate roles and to establish a framework for the creation of a commercially oriented and profit-driven national petroleum company.

He said it would also promote the exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources in Nigeria for the benefit of the Nigerian people and the efficient, effective and sustainable development of the petroleum industry.

The Bill, he explained, proposed to transmute the current commercial entity, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into an incorporated commercial company, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited.

“It also will transform the current Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Petroleum Equalization Fund Management Board (PEF(M)B) and the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency into two new institutions, that is, the Commission and Authority.

“These new entities shall be self-funding and will not rely on appropriation. Therefore, no funding will be appropriated by the National Assembly for these entities under the Petroleum Industry Bill 2020”, he said.

According to Abdullahi, the bill is designed and drafted-on the basis of three sets of principles which include establishment of good governance, competitiveness, global best practices and ease of doing business in the Nigeria oil and gas industry.

He said it would also ensure early revenues for government, simplicity of administration, equity and fairness, competitiveness and transparency, as well as predictability, responsiveness, best practice, sustainability and role clarity in the regulation and management of the industry.

He added that it would also promote the safe and efficient operation of the transportation and distribution infrastructure for the petroleum industry and the framework for developing third party access arrangements to petroleum infrastructure.

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