Senate ends debate on PIB abruptly

The Senate on Tuesday ended debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

A senator from Ondo Central, Hon. motayo Alasoadura, had taken the lead debate on the bill before the exercise was halted.

As Alasoadura, who chairs the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources, outlined the features of the bill, but law-makers murmured that they had not received copies of the document.

President Bukola Saraki expressed surprise that the document had not been circulated, but said he was sure that copies of the bill had already been distributed to law-makers last Thursday.

He suggested that the bill be stood down until members get the document.

The bill was, thereafter, withdrawn, until the next legislative day.

Minority Leader, Hon. Godswill Akpabio, raised an objection to the exercise, saying the bill was not to be glossed over, which was why there was a need for members to get copies of the document before a debate on it.

Making his own contribution, a senator from Zamfara Central, Kabir Marafa, said that he noticed that the essential parts of the document were separated instead of being presented as a whole.

While leading the debate, Alasoadura said the PIB was first introduced in 2008, but that it wasn’t passed in previous administrations of the national assembly.

He said that the objective of the bill was to create efficient institutions, and to promote transparency in the administration of petroleum resources in the country.