Dogara Urges PMB To Okay Petroleum Industry Bills
BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, sign into law the Petroleum Industry Governance Bills (PIGBs) that will be harmonized and passed by both chambers of the National Assembly (NASS) and transmitted to him.
This follows the passage of the Bill by the House on Wednesday. The Senate had last year passed a similar bill.
Dogara said the new legislation will be transmitted to the President as soon as it is harmonized, adding that the parliament had to move on and passed its own version of the Bill following failure of the Executive to present a draft bill to the National Assembly.
A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media & Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan said the Speaker described the passage of the PIGB, as historic and landmark achievement by the 8th National Assembly after it was first introduced to the parliament by late President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua in 2008.
Speaker Dogara argued that with the passage of the long-awaited bill, the Petroleum Industry will witness drastic improvement by attracting investors and opening up the sector with the expected un-bundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to create other relevant and productive bodies.
Dogara however said that the National Assembly will still continue work on other aspects of the petroleum industry in accordance with the 8th Assembly’s Legislative Agenda.
The Bill was subsequently withdrawn by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 and a revised version was re-transmitted to the National Assembly in mid 2012.