Again Saraki Pledges Passage of Remaining PIB Components

Nosa Alekhuogie
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has given a firm assurance that the remaining versions of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be passed before the end of the 8th legislative session.
The Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), one of the versions of the bill passed earlier is currently before President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.

Saraki had at a recent forum, promised that the process for the passage of Fiscal and Host Communities Bill would commence soon.
But giving the status of the bill over the weekend, the Senate President declared that “this 8th National Assembly has taken the bull by the horns. We have been making conscious efforts to ensure that we progress the passage of the law which has gone through various readings. But I promise Nigerians that before the end of this Legislative Assembly, definitely the bill will be passed.”

He gave this assurance Friday night through his representative, Senator Abdullahi Sabi, at the formal presentation of the International Tourisms Borse Berlin’s Golden City-Gate Film Festival award in Germany, won by a Nigerian artist and film maker, Wilfred Ukpong, with his film, Future World in the “Eco-Tourism” category.

Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who received the award from the organisers of the International Film Festival held in Berlin in March, 2018, on behalf of the artist, formally presented it to him. He was assisted by Senator Sabi.

After the screening of the film before the audience, Saraki observed that the message in the film is “quite clear and apt,” noting that “it is an early warning of the impending danger in the Niger Delta,” and advised that “all the stakeholders must take it seriously.”
He maintained that all Nigerians have a responsibility to what is happening in Niger Delta which has been captured by “our own artist through the Future World film, and unbiasely recognised in far away Germany.” He said: “We must congratulate the government of Buhari for the initiatives of starting the clean up of the Niger Delta, beginning with the Ogoni land.”

While presenting the trophy to Ukpong, Tuggar noted that “Future World” is a piece of work that provokes discussions around some of the most topical issues of the day: environmental pollution and climate change, youth employment and migration, energy mix and international trade,” adding that Nigerian government is already taking a good step to finding permanent solutions to the challenges.

Receiving the award, Ukpong, a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker, said that “the 7-minute film narrative conflates around climate change, environmental pollution, and health-related issues and draws from true-life stories, and regional myths to create a captivating abstract universe pulsing with some of the most profound historical, ecological, and socio-cultural issues of our time.” He noted that it was produced to further raise the awareness on the level of degradation in the oil producing area, and calls for urgent solutions.

Among the guests at the event were Mr. Udom Inoyo, Vice Chairman, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Dr. Isaac Thompson Amos, Chairman/CEO of Thompson & Grace Investment Limited, sponsors of the film, Regine Hess, Deputy Head of Mission in German Embassy, Abuja, Mr. Wolfgant Jo Huschert, President of German Film Producers Association, and Mr. Otobong Amos, Director in Thompson & Grace Investment Limited.