EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
The Federal Government’s efforts to open up the oil sector for increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), may have suffered another deadly blow with report that President Muhammadu Buhari, has withheld presidential accent to the much awaited Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), recently passed by the National Assembly.
The harmonised version of the bill was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly on March 28, 2018 after which it was transmitted to Aso Rock on Tuesday, July 3, 2018.
The bill which has been in the saddle for close to two decades had suffered several delays and setbacks, forcing the 8th National Assembly to unbundle it into four parts for ease of administration with the first being the PIGB. The proposed law, which is conceived to liberalise the governance structure of Nigeria’s oil industry and open the sector up for more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been described by stakeholders as the only leeway for the oil sector.
TheCable Petrobarometer learnt that Buhari has sent back the bill to the national assembly on three grounds.
A major reason according to the Cable was that, if signed into law, Buhari said, it would whittle down his power as minister of petroleum resources.
He equally said all the ministers he consulted over PIGB refused to support his signing it into law, adding that he did not see any “fiscal content” of the bill.
The other three parts of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) included; Industry Fiscal Bill (PIFB), which is currently being considered by the lawmakers, Petroleum Industry Administration Bill (PIAB) and the Petroleum Host Community Bill (PHCB).
Buhari’s refusal to sign PIGB into law will be regarded as a big set-back for the reform of the oil industry after years of campaigns and controversies.