Page 4 - AfrOil Week 33 2021

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil
Buhari signs PIB into law
Head of NNPC hails new legal regime, says it will resolve host communities’ concerns
WHAT:
Nigeria’s president has signed the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
WHY:
The West African state
is finally in a position
to establish a stronger legal foundation for the economically vital oil and gas sector.
WHAT NEXT:
According to the head of NNPC, the bill will do a better job of address- ing host communities’ concerns.
NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), a piece of legislation that establishes a new legal regime for the country’s oil and gas industry, into law.
According to Femi Adesina, a spokesman for Buhari, the president took this step on August 16, a month after the PIB was passed by both houses of Nigeria’s National Assembly. He signed the bill at his home, while observing a five-day quarantine following his return from a visit to London on August 13, Adesina said.
“[The] president assented to the bill Monday, August 16, in his determination to fulfill his con- stitutional duty,” the spokesman said. “The cer- emonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday [August 18], after the days of mandatoryisolationwouldhavebeenfulfilled.”
Background
Nigeria’s government has been working for more than a decade to secure the adoption of a new law governing the oil and gas sector.
This was partly because the existing legal regime was thought to be outdated and inca- pable of handling all the challenges posed by changes in the industry and partly because it did not adequately address the concerns that inter- national oil companies (IOCs) had voiced about corruption, contracts and other issues. However, all previous attempts to pass a new law failed.
The most recent of these attempts began in August 2020, when Buhari’s administration submitted its draft version of the PIB to the National Assembly. At the time, the president said he expected MPs to approve the measure by the end of the year. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives duly passed the legislation in the first draft in late September and in the second draft in late October. But they sub- sequently postponed the third reading in order to concentrate on other key tasks, including the passage of a new budget for 2021. After resum- ing debate on the PIB in the spring of 2021, they finally approved it in the third reading in July.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 33 18•August•2021