Just In: President Buhari signs Petroleum Industry Bill into law!

Just In: President Buhari signs Petroleum Industry Bill into law! 

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 into law 31 days after it was passed into law by both the Senate and House of Representatives. 

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina confirmed the development in a statement titled; “President Buhari Signs Petroleum Industry Bill Into Law’.

President Buhari, who recently returned from London signed the Petroleum Industry Bill into law while working from home due to quarantine protocols.

The statement reads; 

“Working from home in five days quarantine as required by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 after returning from London on Friday, August 13, the President assented to the Bill Monday, August 16, in his determination to fulfill his constitutional duty.

“The ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled.

“The Petroleum Industry Act provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.

“The Senate had passed the Bill on July 15, 2021, while the House of Representatives did same on July 16, thus ending a long wait since the early 2000s, and notching another high for the Buhari administration.”

The Petroleum Industry Bill has been a subject of controversy since it was passed into law by lawmakers. The Bill has been heavily criticized by stakeholders especially in the south. 

The Southern Governors, last month rejected the proposed allocation of at least 30% of revenue generated from exploration of oil from ” frontier basins” by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited as identified by section 9 of the PIB. 

The Governors also opposed the 3% allocation of oil revenue for host communities. Instead, it supported the 5% recommendation of the House of Representatives. 

“The Forum rejects the proposed 3% and supports the 5% share of the oil revenue to the host community as recommended by the House of Representatives;

“The forum also rejects the proposed 30% share of profit for the exploration of oil and gas in the basins.

“The forum rejects the ownership structure of the proposed Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited. The Forum disagrees that the company be vested in the Federal Ministry of Finance but should be held in trust by Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority since all tiers of Government have stakes in that vehicle.”

The frontier basins are the Sokoto Basins, Chad Basins, Gongola Basins, Dahomey Basins among others.