The Senate Wednesday, vowed to break the jinx of inconclusive legislation on the Petroleum Industry Bill ( PIB) treated in the 8th Senate as Petroleum Industry Governance Bill ( PIGB).
Senate’s readiness and determination to work on the critical bill for the required reform of the petroleum and Gas Sectors , was declared by its President , Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan in his remarks after the inauguration of the 69 Standing Committees of the 9th Senate .
The move according to him, was highly necessary in view of the stagnant growth bedevilling the sectors .
“Our petroleum industry is almost stagnant and for long needing profound reform. Our oil and gas related committees, are therefore expected to work hard to take the lead in our determination to reform this vital sector.
” It is the desire, indeed the design of this Senate that, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is passed before the end of 2020″, he said .
He added that committees on Security areas should also put on ground required mechanism towards rejigging the security architecture in the country .
According to him, the security architecture of our country has not achieved the desired results of providing the needed security to our citizens. Our security agencies need better funding and other resources for better performance.
“As security is a fundamental responsibility of government, no amount of investment is too much. Our security related committees are therefore challenged to assess and review both the architecture and structure of our security agencies towards improved efficiency”.
The need for human and capital development in the country was also stressed by him , calling on relevant committees in the area to come up with required legislations that will guide the executive arm of government alright in this respect .
“We need to also focus on human capital development. It is inevitable that we have to improve government investments in education and health, if we want to create the critical mass of work force for the knowledge based economy of present times”, he said .
On a general note , the Senate President in his remarks , tasked all the committees to hit the ground running as engine rooms of the Senate in terms of making governance more beneficial to the ordinary Nigerians.
” The committees are the engine rooms of our activities. As a result, effective and efficient performance by our committees is imperative for the success of this Senate.
His words :”Our committees will undertake regular oversights with a view to ensuring that government programmes and projects are properly executed for the benefit of our citizens.
“We will give the committees all the necessary support to function at the optimum, just as we enjoin them to leave no stone unturned in the bid to execute their mandates. Our target is to achieve the set goals of taking Nigeria to the next level”.
He however called on the executive arm of government to cooperate with the 9th National Assembly in making governance , more effective and efficient , saying ” as the committees are the engine rooms of the legislature, so are the MDAs to the executive.
“This is why there is the need for cooperation, consultation, partnership and synergy between the two arms of government. The Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are hereby called upon to harness the opportunity of the existence of the committees in the execution of their mandates. We must have a unity of purpose”.
