Finally, National Assembly passes Petroleum Industry Bill

…Allocates 3% operating expenditure of oil firms to host communities

History was made yesterday, as the National Assembly yesterday passed the Petroleum Industry Bill, also known as PIB, after more than a decade.

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

The Bill was passed during the plenary, after careful consideration of each of the clauses by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House first passed the bill, before the Senate followed suit.

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

Recall that on 28 September 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.

Senate President Ahmed Lawan said the Bill got the input of both the executive and legislative arms of government, adding that the Senate expects President Buhari to sign it as soon as it is transmitted, adding that the Bill got the input of both the executive and legislative arms of government. The Senate then adjourned till July 6, 2021.

Among the highlights of the legislation is the three percent of the revenue generated by oil companies for the host communities, although it was reported that the South-South lawmakers had advocated five percent.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan, while congratulating the lawmakers, said the 9th National Assembly had achieved “one of its fundamental legislative agenda“, adding that: “The demons (of PIB) have been defeated in this Chamber. We have passed the Bill”.

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