Don't Miss


Home   >   Business   >   Industries   >   Energy   >   Reps assure Nigerians on passage of PIB

Reps assure Nigerians on passage of PIB

By on March 13, 2014

The House of Representatives assured Nigerians on Wednesday that it would pass the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill into law after the finishing touches have been made by its Ad-Hoc Committee on PIB.

The Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, while speaking on the progress of work on the bill, said the report of the committee would soon be delivered to members for consideration.

Ihedioha spoke in Abuja when he received a delegation of the South-East/South-South Professionals on a visit to the National Assembly.

He told the group, led by the National President, Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Uju, that the ad hoc committee had earlier conducted public hearings on the PIB at the six geopolitical zones of the country to gauge the feelings of Nigerians,owing to the controversial nature of the bill.

However, The PUNCH observed that the 23-member committee headed by the Chief Whip of the House, Mr. Ishaka Bawa, had failed to produce a report, one and a half years after the members were appointed.

The Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, had named the committee members in November 2012.

The committee had the chairmen of three key standing committees of the House dealing with oil industry matters as members.

They were Chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources ( Upstream), Mr. Ajibola Muraina; Chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream); and Chairman, Committee on Gas Resources, Mr. Bassey Ewa.

A series of investigative reports by The PUNCH had indicated that ” regional and political interests” reportedly did not allow the committee members to agree on the content of the PIB report before making a formal presentation to the general House.

There were also allegations that oil majors, pushing to stop the bill, had mounted pressures on the lawmakers to “water down” the provisions of the bill in their favour.

Bawa, like Ihedioha did on Wednesday, consistently gave assurances that the report on the bill would be laid before the House  before the  end of 2013.

 

 

[Punch]