Assent to PIB Without Delay, CISLAC Tells Buhari

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy (CISLAC) yesterday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which the two chambers of the National Assembly passed on Thursday.

CISLAC, also, commended the National Assembly for passing the PIB, whose passage on Thursday ended about 13 years of legislative fireworks.

The Executive Director of CISLAC, Mallam Auwal Rafsanjani made this call yesterday in a statement, noting that the National Assembly passed the PIB in response to intense campaign and advocacy by several civil society groups.

The two chambers of the National Assembly had passed the PIB, approving that three percent of profit made by oil firms should be shared to host communities.

The PIB stipulated that all exploration of frontier basins would fall under the purview of the Upstream Regulatory Commission.
It also clarified that the three per cent from the oil firm’s profits would be reserved for the development of host communities.

In his statement yesterday, CISLAC’s executive director called on the legislative and administrative departments of the National Assembly “to complete the process necessary for the bill to be submitted to the president for Assent.

“This will further assure Nigerians that the NASS is committed to ensuring that the PIB is passed into law during this legislative session to end the 20-year wait for reforms and clear policy and legislative direction for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.”

He advised the president, upon receipt of the PIB, to assent to it without further delay as a mark of integrity to fulfil a long standing promise to Nigerians, demonstrating his commitment to sanitizing the oil and gas sector.

He lamented that the sector “is notorious for corruption and making a mark that will negate the insinuations that his refusal to assent to the PIB will be linked to the aspiration of retaining discretionary powers for the office of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, which he currently occupies, to award oil licenses.”

Rafsanjani listed the benefits of the PIB, which according to him, would provide a clear legal framework to regulate the oil and gas sector to provide some certainty, transparency and accountability necessary for investments and maximization of benefit for Nigerians.

He, therefore, noted that the civil society organisations (CSOs) “are encouraged by the action of the National Assembly which we believe has re-kindled the hope that this elusive and all-important law could see the light of day in the life of this administration.”

CISLAC’s helmsman noted that the passage of this bill was a campaign promise made upon election in 2015 and had been repeated over the past six years in various forms.
Rafsanjani said: “Indeed, by the schedule of the much publicised Seven Big Wins, it ought to have been passed since December 2016.

“It will be unnecessary to remind the federal government of the trillion of Naira lost, 20 years of uncertainty created and subsequent loss of investor confidence and investments with all its attendant implication to the sector Nigeria depends on for over 80% of its foreign exchange and about 92% of government earnings.”