9th NASS will get Buhari to sign PIGB bill, Lawan assures

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan has assured stakeholders in the nation’s oil and gas sector and Nigerians that the 9th National Assembly will perfect strategies to get President Muhammadu Buhari assent to the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill as soon as possible.

Having identified the defects in the bill as passed and forwarded to the President by the 8th National Assembly, he promised a holistic reworking of the all important legislation that is expected to turn around the oil and gas industry and have a catalytic effect on the nation’s economy.

Lawan expressed this optimism on Thursday while reacting to a plea by Sen. Tayo Alasoadura, a ministerial nominee from Ondo state who passionately urged the 9th Senate to ensure the passage of a new version of the bill in good time.

Alasoadura had lamented the failure of previous attempts at passing the bill and securing presidential assent for it, adding that the 8th National Assembly attempted to split the bill into four different segments with the most important one being the governance bill.

“Unfortunately, after all the legislative inputs put into the consideration and passage of the all important bill, it wasn’t assented to, but as a parliament there is the need to revisit it and re-forward it to the President for assent

“This appeal is being made because it is the passage of the PIGB bill that will drive the required reforms in the petroleum industry which is very critical to the nation’s economy,” he said.

The Senate President said from 2007 till date, the bill has separately being pushed forward for consideration and passage either by the executive or legislature without the required collaboration between the two arms of government.

Lawan said that “in 2007, the bill was sent for consideration and passage to the National Assembly by the executive which was characterized with so many versions and invariably accounted for its failure in terms of passage.

“In 2011 during the 7th Senate, the bill also came from the executive, but required legislative considerations were not concluded on it. In 2015 during the 8th Senate, the bill emanated from the Senate and by extension the National Assembly, it was considered and passed, but not assented to by the executive.

“Strategic lesson to be learnt from the foregoing is that in reconsidering the bill, the executive will have to be carried along since all the previous solo efforts made either by the executive or legislature failed.

“What is on ground now is for both arms of government to come together and work the bill into fruition.

“On our part here, our related committees on petroleum when reconstituted will swing into action in getting the very important assignment done. All we require is to have the synergy with the executive arm of government and break the jinx holding back the petroleum industry.”