Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has stated that the
federal government is committed to the passage of the Petroleum Industry
Governance Bill (PIGB) to enable Nigeria reap full benefits of the country’s
petroleum resources.
This is even as the Senate President, Dr. Bukola
Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara,
reassured Nigerians that both chambers of the National Assembly were working
hard to see the eventual passage of the lingering bill.
They all made the declarations on Monday in Lagos at
the 18th International Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) biennial conference
organised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in conjunction with other
agencies, with the theme: ‘Driving Sustainability in the Oil and Gas Industry
through Improved Stakeholders Environmental Stewardship’.
Osinbajo, who was represented at the occasion by the
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, said the discussion
about the future of oil and gas in the country cannot be separated from the
PIGB, stressing that the bill “represents most ambitious and comprehensive
reforms in oil and gas in Nigeria.”
According to Osinbajo, “No discussion about the
future of the oil and gas can be divorced from the Petroleum Industry Bill
(PIB) which represents the most ambitious and comprehensive reform in decades
of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. While there have been varied reactions
to the president’s recent decision to return the PIGB to the National Assembly
for slight amendments, permit me to state unequivocally that this
administration remains fully committed to the passage of the PIGB, and we are
working closely with the National Assembly to ensure its timely passage.
“The reforms proposed in the PIGB reflect our
collective desire to entrench transparency and sustainability of oil and gas
operations in Nigeria to enable the country finally realise the full potential
of it hydrocarbon resources.”
He said: “Resolving the security challenge in the
Niger Delta region remains on the front burner for this administration as we
seek to create a peaceful business climate that would attract investors and
bring massive development to the oil producing communities.”
At the event, the vice-president also launched the
three regulatory documents on guidelines to improve safety and environmental
standards in the oil and gas industry.
The documents included: Environmental Guidelines
and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN: 2018); Occupational
Health Guidelines for the oil and gas industry; and Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Material (NORM) in the Petroleum Industry: Abandonment,
Decommissioning and Decontamination of Oil and Gas Installations; as well as NORM
management guidelines for the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Saraki, who was represented at the event
by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum, Downstream, Senator Omotayo
Alasoadura, disclosed that recommendations of the Senate committee on the
returned PIGB would be laid on the floor of the Senate this week.
“The good news is that the return of the bill is
not the end of it. I will tell you here today that this week by the grace of
God, the recommendations of the Senate committee on the bill will likely be
taken on the floor of the Senate and all the areas that the president is feeling
uncomfortable would have been addressed because we believe this bill and others
to come are very important for the development of the petroleum industry.”
Also speaking, Dogara, who was equally represented
by the Chairman of the House on Petroleum, Downstream, Hon. Victor Nwokolo,
stated that both chambers of the national legislative house were working hard
to ensure the passage of the PIGB.
He said: “It is a shame to all of us that the PIB has
not yet been completed. The attempt by legislatures to take the initiative by
passing the PIGB as a first step in the process has not received the kind of
cooperation and urgency required. We are, however, working hard to present
another version of the bill for presidential assent.”
He, however, described the conference as a strategic platform
for developing practical action plan to tackle issues of safety and security in
the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
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