Pressure mounts on Buhari as PIB returns to NASS




Pressure has started mounting on President Muhammadu Buhari, as the promised two weeks for return of the latest version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to the National Assembly expires.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, had earlier in the month, while presenting the presidency’s position on the bill through a televised programme, assured that a revised version of the PIB would be transmitted to the National Assembly within two weeks.

However, a gust speaker, Juliet Ukanwosu, during a virtual meeting, organised by Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER) tagged; “Advocacy Planning Mechanism On The PIB”, Thursday expressed worries over the repeated setbacks the bill suffered. He noted that it was time for stakeholders, including journalists to remind the president that “there is no more time for stories, as the 2020 his government promised is already running out”.

The PIB, which was intended to address obsolete legislations, too many existing laws, as well as regulations governing Nigeria’s petroleum industry, had severally faced challenges in its journey to becoming a unified law for the industry, with many blaming the challenges on politics, regional and other pecuniary interests.

According to Ukanwosu, while the bill might be on its way to the National Assembly once again, “we need to discuss extensively on it, and come out with tangible suggestions, which could help the government arrive at the appropriate decision.”

“The multinationals formed a block of interest, politics is also there, the refining segment is there, and marketers are also involved. These are people with high level of power to manipulate anything in this country”, Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Peter Akpatason, and industry player told journalists in the past.

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