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National Assembly pledges to pass oil bill before June

By BusinessNews Staff on January 7, 2015

The two chambers of the National Assembly on Monday dispelled fears that the 7th National Assembly would not pass the Petroleum Industry Bill before the end of its tenure on June 5, 2015.

The Senate and the House of Representatives claimed that the bill would be passed before the expiration of their tenure on June 5.

With just around 151 days left to the end of the current legislative tenure, there have been fears that the bill may be left un-passed as was the case in the 6th Natoinal Assembly.

The PIB has been stalled at the committee stage in both chambers of the National Assembly.

While the House had public hearings on it in the six geo-political zones of the country, the Senate has yet to do so, though it conducted a hearing in Abuja.

As of Monday, there was no report on the PIB for consideration in the two chambers.

Both chambers are still on break for the Christmas and New Year festivities, and are expected to resume on January 13.

But the Senate gave an assurance that the bill would be passed in the single format that it came from the Executive. This is against predictions by analysts

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, and his counterpart in charge of Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, gave the assurance on behalf of the Senate in separate interviews with our correspondent on Monday.

The senators explained that since the document was presented to the 7th Senate as a single bill, it would be treated and passed as such before June 5.

Abaribe said, “The bill was presented as a single bill. What is left is just for the senators to debate the bill and pass it upon its presentation by the joint committee. It is not true that it will be passed as two separate bills.

“I don’t see why we cannot pass the bill because the bill has been completed and thoroughly done by the joint committee that handled it. How long does it take to debate a bill? Most of the issues are mainly administrative. We can deal with the contentious aspects.”

Enang, whose committee has the responsibility to present legislative activities for deliberations, said the 7th Senate would be unfair to the nation if it failed to pass the bill.

He said, “We will either remove any contentious aspects or vote on them, and then pass the bill. It will be unfair of the legislature to Nigeria if we don’t pass the bill.

“As of today, the oil price has gone very low and Nigeria is not earning much from oil. Those who are supposed to invest in the oil sector despite the risks are discouraged because of the absence of the legal framework.

“So, in the face of the dwindling oil prices, we should do everything that will encourage investment in the petroleum sector, including encouraging people to be involved in refining and the power sector.”

On his part, Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, said it would be “hasty” for anybody to conclude that the PIB would not be passed, in spite of spending over three years with the House ad-hoc committee.

Mohammed noted that the House had up to five months from January to the end of the current tenure and could pass the bill within the period.

He added, “Time is still on our side. The only delay may be the elections coming up in February. So, yes, we may not pass it before we go for elections, because we have the 2015 budget as the main item on the table when we reconvene on January 13.

“However, when we come back after the elections, the PIB will receive full attention. The report is with the committee and they will lay it before the whole House for consideration.”

[Punch]

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