PIB: NASS To Introduce Own Version Soon-Dogara, Says…We Won't Wait For Executive's Version anymore

In line with the need for urgency in reforming the nation's oil and gas

sector, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu

Dogara, has disclosed that the National Assembly will soon begin work on

its own version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

A press statement signed by the Speaker's special adviser on Media and

Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, stated that the decision of the National

Assembly to draw up its own version of the bill was reached because of the

urgent need to reform the oil and gas sector.
The Speaker, who made this known while receiving the international board

of Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Nigerian

Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) at the National

Assembly on Monday, also said the bill, which has gone into its final

stages, will be given expeditious consideration on the floor of the two

chambers of the National Assembly.
Dogara also informed the delegation that in line with the resolve of the

House of Representatives to fully work with President Muhammadu Buhari to

implement reforms in the oil, gas and mining sectors, the House is giving

them priority attention in legislative business.
“We have repeatedly – especially my humble self – have repeatedly called

on the Executive to present reform proposals in the petroleum sector.

However, we may not continue to wait for an Executive bill on this subject

matter as we are prepared to introduce the National Assembly’s version;

what we believe should be the legal framework for the oil and gas sector

in Nigeria.”
“We cannot continue to take the blame for non-passage of the petroleum

reform legislation in Nigeria. As I speak with you, work on our own

version has reached advanced stage and hopefully, we hope to introduce it

in both chambers of the National Assembly. If it happens that the

Executive transmits its own version of its own vision of the oil sector,

we have ample provision in the House Rules for us to merge the two. We

will not continue to wait.”
Going further, he said the legislature is determined to ensure that

resource curse syndrome is reversed in the country as a situation where

there is so much poverty in the midst of abundant resources is

unacceptable.
Expressing the desire of the House to partner with EITI, he said it will,

starting from the first quarter of this year, begin the consideration and

debate of the NEITI's extractive industry audit report on the floor of the

House as this will help to actualise the Eighth Assembly’s desire to be

more thorough with its oversight functions, especially in the oil and gas

sectors.
He further directed the committees on Petroleum (Upstream) and Rules and

Business to introduce and schedule the report for debate before the end of

this quarter.
Earlier, the acting executive secretary of NEITI, Mr Orji Ogbannaya Orji,

who accompanied the incoming chairman of EITI and former prime minister of

Sweden, Mr Fedrick Reinfeldt, stressed the need to fight the resource

curse the country is presently faced with, which is the sole purpose for

which the agency was created.
In his remarks, Reinfeldt commended Nigeria for being one of the first

African nations to key into EITI, while harping on the need for

transparency and prudent use of natural resources.
Deputy head of EITI's secretariat, Eddie Rich, said while making his

remarks that in order to get more timely data, there is need to publish

online, the account information of relevant agencies such as the Nigerian

National Petroleum Corporation's (NNPC), oil processing licenses and

contracts to help provide accurate and timely data for oversight and

similar functions rather than relying on NEITI to collate all data from

the sector.
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