The National Assembly has unanimously resolved to harmonise legislative activities to fast track the passage of the three remaining components of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), BusinessDay can report authoritatively.
The PIB, now broken into four parts to aid speedy passage, comprises the Petroleum Industry Governance and Institutional Bill (PIGB), which have been passed by the two chambers; the Petroleum Industry Fiscal management bill, Petroleum Industry Administration Bill, and Petroleum Industry Host Community bill, which are at various stages of legislative consideration at the National Assembly.
The House of Representatives last two weeks adopted and passed the PIGB, expected to be transmitted to the President for assent.
“The other three bills are at various levels of legislative consideration. They have passed through second and third reading and referred to the PIB Ad-hoc Committees. One important thing to note is that, under the wisdom of our leadership, for the first time, the National Assembly taking this style of consideration of this kind of bill,” Ado Doguwa, lead chair of the joint Senate and House Ad-hoc Committee on PIB, speaking exclusively to BusinessDay, said.
“The Senate President and the Speaker have agreed at a stage now to merge the two distinct committees: the Senate Committee on PIB and House Committee on PIB are now merged together to operate as one, so as to be able to address these issues very promptly and quickly. So that we will not be caught unawares, so that time will not be against us. We have agreed on that.
“And I being the only principal officer in the two committees, I’m the Lead Chair of the joint National Assembly Petroleum Industry Bill Ad-hoc Committee. We have already started meetings, we have started consolation even in our subsequent public hearings and every other legislative business will be held in a joint capacity,” Doguwa said.
The two different committees can act independently when need be, but at strategic cases, he said, but “we will act jointly, operate jointly and pass the three bills jointly for ease of time and ease of legislation in the interest of our greater Nigeria,” Doguwa, who doubles as majority chief whip in the House of Representatives told our correspondent.
According to the Petroleum Host Community legislative framework seen by BusinessDay which has been referred to the Ad-hoc Committee, it provides for the establishment of Community Fund, Federal Government is obligated to “pay directly to Local Governments account the amount for the benefits of the upstream petroleum communities within a Local Government.
Ten percent of the total amount payable to a State Government by the Federal Government in accordance with the Derivative formula as contained in the Constitution.
Additional “30 percent of royalties is to be paid by a company from petroleum production on land within the territory of an upstream petroleum community.”
Likewise, “20 percent of an aggregate of the total royalties accruing to Federal Government for petroleum production evenly divided by the number of Local Governments with facility.”
The legislative framework also provides that “50 percent of amount payable to the Federal Government for pipeline rights of way shall be paid to Local Government within pipeline communities are located, solely for the benefit of these communities.”
Details on the Petroleum Industry Fiscal management bill, Petroleum Industry Administration Bill and Petroleum Industry Host Community bill are however sketchy.
Meanwhile, the PIGB, which is now awaiting Presidential assent seeks to create single regulatory authority across the petroleum industry, ensure transparency of operations, make revenue collection easier on monthly basis base in production rate as well as regulate taxation in line with international standard.
Under the ongoing reform, the bill provides for the divestment of 10 percent of government’s equity in the proposed National Oil Company (NOC), as stipulated in section 119 of the PIGB.
Similarly, the bill provides for establishment of other entities such as Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company, Nigerian Petroleum Liability; Management Company, Petroleum Products Marketing Companies Petroleum; Equalisation Fund, among others.
In the process of winding-down NNPC and other entities, 26 major Oil Mining Licences and Oil Processing Licences (OPLs) namely OML 123, OML 124, OPL 90, OPL 125, OPL 209, OPL 211, OPL 212, OPL 213, OPL 214, OPL 217, OPL 218, OPL 219, OPL 220, OPL 211, OPL 222, OPL 242, OPL 244, OPL 245, OPL 247, OPL 256, OPL 318, OPL 320, OPL 322 and OPL 324 are to be transferred to the Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company.
The legislative framework also proposed upward review of royalties accrued from oil and gas from 55 percent to 63 percent, as part of efforts geared to boost Federal Government’s revenue.
Section 61 of the bill provides that the initial shares of National Petroleum Company shall be held in the ratio of 51% by Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated and 49% by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on behalf of government.
Section 90 of the PIGB provides for the processes for the winding-down of DPR and PPPRA, as soon as the Commission came on-stream.
On the rationale behind the splitting of the PIB, the Kano state lawmaker explained that the leadership of both chambers was to ensure ease legislative consideration in order to avoid the past mistake, which stalled its passage since 6th Assembly.
“What we have done on PIB was trying to deviate from the previous mistakes we have made in the past. I was part of the 7th Assembly, I was also a member of the 6th Assembly. We have come to a conclusion to understand that taking the PIB in its omnibus nature and holistically may be very difficult for the legislature to pass.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
