Nigeria to send Petroleum Industry Governance bill back to the Senate on April 25

yinka ogunlami

March 30, 2017 4:46 PM

The new version is known as Petroleum Industry Governance bill, which is a disaggregated version of the PIB intended for easy passage by the Legislative arm.

Ibe Kachikwu

The executive arm of the government is set to send a new version of the controversial petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) back to the Senate, spokesman of the Senate President confirms to newsmen today.

The first version of the PIB was introduced 10 years ago, and met taut opposition from the Multinational Oil companies as well as some other key industry players. Other reasons that stall passage of the bill since 2008 were different versions of the bill and issues around expected post-reform roles of the minister.

Under the current draft of the PIG bill, the minister’s role is limited to policy functions and he/she is not part of the board of the new Regulatory body. At a public hearing on December 9, 2016, the Minister of state for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, advocated that the Minister of Petroleum should be empowered to Chair the board of the proposed regulatory body. He further requested that powers to issue regulations should also be domicile with the office of the Minister.

This positions contrasts the intent of the Senate who feels the separation would avoid necessary conflicts of interest and political interference.

yinka ogunlami

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