CISLAC hails NASS over passage of PIGB

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has commended the National Assembly on the passage of the long awaited Petroleum Industry and Governance Bill (PIGB).
CISLAC’s statement comes after both chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the Bill on Wednesday March 28, 2018.
It would be recalled that CISLAC and its partners have been engaging the relevant Committees of both Chambers to conclude the harmonisation process and have it ready for Presidential Assent in good time.
In a press statement signed by its Executive Director, Auwal Ibrahim Musa, CISLAC noted that NASS was able to keep to its end of March deadline saying that the ‘our legislators have kept their word.”
According to him, CISLAC observes that the passage of the PIGB was one of the campaign promises of the present administration to be delivered within the first one year in office; the commitment had been reiterated in the Federal Government’s Short and Medium Term Priorities to grow Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Industry 2015–2019 (7 Big Wins), and ought to have been passed by the first quarter of 2017. It is however better late than never.
“We note that the Bill, as passed, has retained many of the proposals put forward by civil society, including CISLAC and her partners during the Public Hearing session held on the Bill, including the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to separate her commercial role from her regulatory functions and establish institutions with clear roles and powers, among others.
“It is pertinent to highlight that the law is not perfect and still retains some vestiges of the old order such as the Petroleum Equalization Fund which seems to contradict the suggested policy direction for deregulation and the establishment of a single regulator for both the downstream and upstream which could be burdensome and lead to inefficiency.
“There is also a lack of clarity on the proposed 5% Fuel Levy in terms of manner and stages for collection.
“CISLAC, however, posited that it is the closest the country has ever come to such legislation in 12 years and represents our greatest opportunity to have a law that will substantially address the lack of strong and clear institutions governing the sector and address the uncertainties in the sector that have resulted in loss of revenues, absence of investment and monumental corruption.
“We therefore call on the President to promptly assent to the Bill which should be presented to him by March 30, 2018, after independent due diligence in fulfillment of his promise to provide appropriate legal and regulatory framework particularly important for optimal performance of the oil and gas sector and in line with the anti-corruption stance of his administration.
“We call on the National Assembly to now shift their focus on the passage of the outstanding components of the PIB addressing Host Community issues and the Fiscal Framework for the sector, without which we cannot really say we have a PIB in place.
“We call on civil society, citizens and the media to remain vigilant until the battle for the passage of all the versions of a people-oriented and national interest serving PIB is won,” it said.