In line with the need for urgency in reforming the nation\u2019s oil and gas<\/p>\n
sector, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu
\nDogara, has disclosed that the National Assembly will soon begin work on
\nits own version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).<\/p>\n
A press statement signed by the Speaker\u2019s special adviser on Media and
\nPublic Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, stated that the decision of the National
\nAssembly to draw up its own version of the bill was reached because of the
\nurgent need to reform the oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n
The Speaker, who made this known while receiving the international board
\nof Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Nigerian
\nExtractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) at the National
\nAssembly on Monday, also said the bill, which has gone into its final
\nstages, will be given expeditious consideration on the floor of the two
\nchambers of the National Assembly.<\/p>\n
Dogara also informed the delegation that in line with the resolve of the
\nHouse of Representatives to fully work with President Muhammadu Buhari to
\nimplement reforms in the oil, gas and mining sectors, the House is giving
\nthem priority attention in legislative business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have repeatedly \u2013 especially my humble self \u2013 have repeatedly called
\non the Executive to present reform proposals in the petroleum sector.
\nHowever, we may not continue to wait for an Executive bill on this subject
\nmatter as we are prepared to introduce the National Assembly’s version;
\nwhat we believe should be the legal framework for the oil and gas sector
\nin Nigeria.”<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot continue to take the blame for non-passage of the petroleum
\nreform legislation in Nigeria. As I speak with you, work on our own
\nversion has reached advanced stage and hopefully, we hope to introduce it
\nin both chambers of the National Assembly. If it happens that the
\nExecutive transmits its own version of its own vision of the oil sector,
\nwe have ample provision in the House Rules for us to merge the two. We
\nwill not continue to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going further, he said the legislature is determined to ensure that
\nresource curse syndrome is reversed in the country as a situation where
\nthere is so much poverty in the midst of abundant resources is
\nunacceptable.<\/p>\n
Expressing the desire of the House to partner with EITI, he said it will,
\nstarting from the first quarter of this year, begin the consideration and
\ndebate of the NEITI\u2019s extractive industry audit report on the floor of the
\nHouse as this will help to actualise the Eighth Assembly’s desire to be
\nmore thorough with its oversight functions, especially in the oil and gas
\nsectors.<\/p>\n
He further directed the committees on Petroleum (Upstream) and Rules and
\nBusiness to introduce and schedule the report for debate before the end of
\nthis quarter.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the acting executive secretary of NEITI, Mr Orji Ogbannaya Orji,
\nwho accompanied the incoming chairman of EITI and former prime minister of
\nSweden, Mr Fedrick Reinfeldt, stressed the need to fight the resource
\ncurse the country is presently faced with, which is the sole purpose for
\nwhich the agency was created.
\nIn his remarks, Reinfeldt commended Nigeria for being one of the first
\nAfrican nations to key into EITI, while harping on the need for
\ntransparency and prudent use of natural resources.<\/p>\n
Deputy head of EITI\u2019s secretariat, Eddie Rich, said while making his
\nremarks that in order to get more timely data, there is need to publish
\nonline, the account information of relevant agencies such as the Nigerian
\nNational Petroleum Corporation\u2019s (NNPC), oil processing licenses and
\ncontracts to help provide accurate and timely data for oversight and
\nsimilar functions rather than relying on NEITI to collate all data from
\nthe sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In line with the need for urgency in reforming the nation\u2019s oil and gas sector, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has disclosed that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n