How PIB Was Passed — Lawan

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has given insights into what the
National Assembly did to get the much-awaited Petroleum Industry
Bill (PIB) passed and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari
on Monday.

Lawan narrated the strategy adopted by the ninth Assembly while
answering questions from journalists shortly after a brief ceremony
at the Presidential Villa where the President announced the setting
up of an implementation Committee for the new law.

The Senate President, according to a statement by his Special
Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja, said: “Everyone knows that
the Petroleum Industry Bill suffered a lot of hiccups in the
National Assembly previously but when we came in in 2019, both
Chambers identified the passage of the PIB as one very strong,
fundamental, critical and strategic bill that we must pass within
the life cycle of this ninth National Assembly.

“And by the grace of God we redefined the way to go about it
because we would have learnt from the mistakes of the past on the
issue.

“And what we emphasised and that worked for us to achieve what
we did was to ensure that we work very closely with the executive
arm of government right from the conception of the Bill itself.

“So our oil and gas related committees started working with
agencies of government that handle the oil and gas industry. And we
had this interaction continuously up to the point that the Bill was
finally presented to the National Assembly.

“Members of the National Assembly had taken the passage of this
Bill to be one legacy this Ninth National Assembly should leave by
the time we complete our tenure.

“We want to make it very clear that everybody in the National
Assembly, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, from
all parts of Nigeria worked for the Bill to be passed.

“The debates were, of course, very lively and sometime even very
difficult ones but that was to show emotive attachment that
everybody had for the Bill to be passed. And we have passed the
Bill by the grace of God.

“This is one Bill that will benefit Nigeria as a country and
benefits its people. Benefit Nigeria as a country in such a way
that, like the President just said, this is going to give
certainty, create the legal framework that people, especially the
investors, had feared that was absent or not adequate. And that
certainty will make it possible to have foreign direct investment
particularly coming into the oil industry.

“Secondly, we will have much more revenues coming into our
country, into our coffers. So our States will have more revenues.
Our local governments will have more funds. And of course, what
they expect is that these revenues should translate into actionable
projects that will make life better for Nigerians.”

Responding to questions on the agitation for more funds for the
host communities, Lawan said: “The host communities are winners as
well. It may not be necessarily exactly what some of them had
hoped.

“But you know from zero to over $500million….and with time, such
issues will be further addressed but I want to also caution that it
is not the $500 million that is more but how we are able to
prudently and transparently deploy this $500 million in the host
communities.

“This time around, there should be no excuses for anybody to
tamper with this money. The host communities have suffered enough,
even when NDDC was established, I’m sure it was established because
of the host communities’ issues and yet the host communities did
not get much attention.

“This time, the host communities have been specifically
mentioned and these funds should go there. We want to see people
who will be appointed, taking this as trust and do what is
right.

“Of course, there will be so much employment and jobs especially
in the midstream of the value chain. This midstream has not been in
existence so to speak.

“What we have is the upstream and then, the downstream. When our
refineries will be better and more will be established, I’m sure
the value chain will have opportunity for more Nigerians to have
jobs and so on.

“I believe that this is one very historic and important moment
for us as a National Assembly, this Ninth National Assembly and of
course a very historic moment for this administration led by
President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has given insights into what the
National Assembly did to get the much-awaited Petroleum Industry
Bill (PIB) passed and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari
on Monday.

Lawan narrated the strategy adopted by the ninth Assembly while
answering questions from journalists shortly after a brief ceremony
at the Presidential Villa where the President announced the setting
up of an implementation Committee for the new law.

The Senate President, according to a statement by his Special
Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja, said: “Everyone knows that
the Petroleum Industry Bill suffered a lot of hiccups in the
National Assembly previously but when we came in in 2019, both
Chambers identified the passage of the PIB as one very strong,
fundamental, critical and strategic bill that we must pass within
the life cycle of this ninth National Assembly.

“And by the grace of God we redefined the way to go about it
because we would have learnt from the mistakes of the past on the
issue.

“And what we emphasised and that worked for us to achieve what
we did was to ensure that we work very closely with the executive
arm of government right from the conception of the Bill itself.

“So our oil and gas related committees started working with
agencies of government that handle the oil and gas industry. And we
had this interaction continuously up to the point that the Bill was
finally presented to the National Assembly.

“Members of the National Assembly had taken the passage of this
Bill to be one legacy this Ninth National Assembly should leave by
the time we complete our tenure.

“We want to make it very clear that everybody in the National
Assembly, in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, from
all parts of Nigeria worked for the Bill to be passed.

“The debates were, of course, very lively and sometime even very
difficult ones but that was to show emotive attachment that
everybody had for the Bill to be passed. And we have passed the
Bill by the grace of God.

“This is one Bill that will benefit Nigeria as a country and
benefits its people. Benefit Nigeria as a country in such a way
that, like the President just said, this is going to give
certainty, create the legal framework that people, especially the
investors, had feared that was absent or not adequate. And that
certainty will make it possible to have foreign direct investment
particularly coming into the oil industry.

“Secondly, we will have much more revenues coming into our
country, into our coffers. So our States will have more revenues.
Our local governments will have more funds. And of course, what
they expect is that these revenues should translate into actionable
projects that will make life better for Nigerians.”

Responding to questions on the agitation for more funds for the
host communities, Lawan said: “The host communities are winners as
well. It may not be necessarily exactly what some of them had
hoped.

“But you know from zero to over $500million….and with time, such
issues will be further addressed but I want to also caution that it
is not the $500 million that is more but how we are able to
prudently and transparently deploy this $500 million in the host
communities.

“This time around, there should be no excuses for anybody to
tamper with this money. The host communities have suffered enough,
even when NDDC was established, I’m sure it was established because
of the host communities’ issues and yet the host communities did
not get much attention.

“This time, the host communities have been specifically
mentioned and these funds should go there. We want to see people
who will be appointed, taking this as trust and do what is
right.

“Of course, there will be so much employment and jobs especially
in the midstream of the value chain. This midstream has not been in
existence so to speak.

“What we have is the upstream and then, the downstream. When our
refineries will be better and more will be established, I’m sure
the value chain will have opportunity for more Nigerians to have
jobs and so on.

“I believe that this is one very historic and important moment
for us as a National Assembly, this Ninth National Assembly and of
course a very historic moment for this administration led by
President Muhammadu Buhari.”