PIB will make NNPC more accountable to Nigerians, address host communities concerns – Lawmaker

The Member, representing Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Oru West Federal Constituency of Imo state, Kingsley Chima says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will make the Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) directly accountable to Nigerians, as profit from oil exploration will be quickly moved to the federation account.

The PIB which has been passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly,
intends to the commercialise the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to become Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to be incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.

Read Also: The PIB: Panacea to the ills of Nigeria’s Oil industry?

Chima, a Member of the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on
PIB while addressing journalists in Abuja said when signed into law, the PIB would provide a very organized governance policy in the oil and gas sector.

He noted that the piece of legislation give oil producing areas the opportunity to participate in the use of their resources as the 5% allocation to host communities will no longer be sent in proxy.

The lawmaker explained that a the host communities will now manage the
Development Trust Fund accruable from the 5% operating cost approved by the House in the Bill.

Chima said the issue of cost of security management as usually raised by oil majors as a key challenge will be rested under the new law, since the host communities will have the perception of ownership of projects to be executed through the special fund.

He also expressed delight on the provisions in sections 232 and 233, of the Bill, to the effect that abandoned property in rage oil sector could be taken care of, and kept functional, as well as remediation of the environment through a decommissioning fund.

Chima said: “The greatest achievement of the 9th House of the National Assembly is the passage of the PIB. If you recall you will agree with me that this bill has been in the cooler for over a decade and what it means is that there may have been issues of disagreements, gray areas, areas that are not actually agreeable by all the stakeholders.

“It got to a point where too many people actually invested so much either regional, political, religious or even economic interest in the course of trying to adduce their reason for not actually passing the bill. But yesterday the bill was given the greatest ovation anybody can think of in the National Assembly. Overwhelming 99.9 percent of the members on the floor, if not 100 percent agreed with the content of the bill as actually recommended by the PIB committee.

“That is to say that the 9th Assembly under the leadership of Rt Hon Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, has actually given flesh and life to the corporate governance of our oil sector. What I mean by this is today we are talking about an oil sector with a very organized governance policy. The policy that would actually entrench profitability, viability of the oil and gas sector in this country”.