Finally, Senate passes PIB, awards host communities 3% oil profit

The Senate on Thursday finally passed the Petroleum Industry Bill shortly after the lower house had also passed it for third reading.
The bill has been in the works since the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who led Nigeria between 1999 and 2007 but successive sessions of the national assembly failed to pass it.
The PIB passed third reading after Mohammed Sabo, chairman of the joint committee petroleum (upstream and downstream) and gas, presented a report and its clauses put to voice vote.
Presenting the report on Thursday, Sabo said the legislation was aimed at “promoting transparency, good governance and accountability in the oil and gas sector.”
He said the committee recommended that 30 per cent of profit of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation from oil and gas should be used to fund exploration of frontier basins.
“The various obsolete laws currently in operation in the country have been updated and consolidated in this chapter to meet global competitiveness and best practices,” he said.
He added, “A total of 355 amendments were recommended to this chapter while others were retained.”
At the public hearing on the bill, representatives of the host communities demanded that they be allocated 10 per cent.
Although five per cent was proposed, the joint committee recommended three per cent after a meeting of the senators with Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari.
After three per cent was accepted as what should be due to host communities, Thompson Sekibo, senator representing Rivers North-East, called for a “division” to challenge a ruling of Senate President Ahmad Lawan that allow that.
While some senators spoke in favour of the division, others kicked against it.
Chairman of the House Ad hoc Committee on the PIB, Mohammed Tahir Mongunu, had earlier moved for the consideration of the motion at about 1pm on Thursday.