By Sunny Anderson Osiebe.
Senate
President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2016,
stated that the Senate would be introducing a Host Community
legislation to complement the Governance and Institutional
Framework Bill of the revised PIB that passed Second Reading at the
Senate on Wednesday.
In a statement
signed by Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Special Adviser on Media &
Publicity to the Senate President, Saraki stated that with the
institutional and governance framework aspect of the PIB
at the Committee Stage, it was necessary for the Senate to begin work
on the passage of the host community development legislation, which is
aimed at addressing issues relating to community participation,
security, and the ecological debt incurred by host
communities from oil extraction.
“For many years
now the PIB has been stalled at different stages for one reason or the
other,” Saraki stated, “At this point, the Senate is ready and willing
to do everything that it takes to get
Nigeria’s economy out of this recession — and the efficient and
effective management of our oil resources is a key component of this.
“Now that the
legislation to provide a governance and institutional framework for the
petroleum industry has passed Second Reading, it is time to re-introduce
the host community development legislation
to address the legitimate agitations of the people of the Niger Delta,”
he said.
By the
calculation of the Senate President, work on the passage of the two key
bills will be nearing completion stage before the end of the year.
The Senate
President also stated that he has asked legislators from the Upper
Legislative Chamber to work together and introduce the host community
development legislation, within four weeks, emphasising
the fact that the predicaments of host communities that have faced the
adverse effects of oil exploration for decades need to be addressed.
The version of
the PIB that is now at Committee Stage is sponsored by Senator Omotayo
D. Alasoadura and Twenty-eight Co-Sponsors. The Bill with the long title
of “An
Act to Provide for the Governance and Institutional Framework for the Petroleum Industry and for Other Related Matters” is
aimed at creating
an efficient and effective governing institution for the petroleum
industry by defining clear and separate roles for all involved entities
and establishing a framework for the creation of commercially oriented
and profit- driven petroleum bodies that ensure
value addition and internationalization of the petroleum industry.
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