SAN FRANCISCO, June 01, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has disagreed with the piecemeal approach adopted by the Senate in passing the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, contending that the one the Senate passed did not contain how the welfare of host oil communities would be protected.
The House therefore promised to expedite action on the passage of a holistic bill that would consider all segments in the smooth operation of oil companies in the country.
THEWILL recalls that the upper chamber had last Thursday passed the petroleum industry governance bill, PIGB, which is the first part of the petroleum industry bill, PIB that has been pending on the floor since 2008.
Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum, Upstream, Victor Nwokolo, told journalists in Abuja that the PIB to be passed into law by the House would not only be holistic but also encompass the interests of host communities and fiscal regulation of the oil industry.
Nwokolo, who spoke at the workshop organised by the committee for House members on the PIB, disclosed that the consideration of the PIB would commence next week in the House and be given accelerated hearing.
He explained that the House resolved to treat the bill holistically in line with what obtains in other parts of the world where petroleum is a natural resource, and listed Alaska, Mexico and Venezuela as countries where host communities were all stakeholders in the petroleum industry.
He said the bill passed into law by the Senate was only one-third of the entirety of the legislation before the House, adding that the committee decided to organise the workshop for members to refresh their minds on what the House had done in respect of the PIB in the past.
According to Nwokolo, “the bill has gone through first reading and by next week, it will go through second reading and it will be given accelerated attention that it requires.
“It is true, it has been passed in the Senate, but what the Senate has done is only a fraction of it, only one-third of it; what it referred to as the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB, is what had been passed.
“But, in the case of the House of Representatives, we are taking it holistically. Like you read in the newspapers, you found the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, and Ijaw National Congress, INC, saying they do not agree with what the Senate has done because the issue of host communities has not been addressed.
“If you are also following the proceedings in the House of Representatives, you will agree with me that we are taking it holistically, because we have dealt with the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB.
“We have also gone through the fiscal and the host community bill, so we are taking it holistically, so that no section of it will be left out.”
He explained that the essence of taking the bill in its entirety by the House was to consider what was obtainable in other parts of the globe where petroleum is a natural resource, such as Alaska, Mexico and Venezuela, where host communities are all stakeholders.
The House committee chairman continued, “The essence of this workshop is to broaden members’ knowledge about this contentious issue of host community.
“When you are talking about mineral resources today, it is not only petroleum we are talking about. By the grace of God, the government is trying to push for other mineral resources, such coal that you find in Plateau, Kogi states and other areas.
“So, when you talk about host communities, it is going to be applicable to all parts of the country, so that it will not be seen as a means of empowering only the Niger Delta or oil producing communities again.’’
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