The Senate on Wednesday passed the much-anticipated Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), with the endorsement of five percent collect on fuel sold the nation over.
This was spin-off of unanimous reception of the give an account of the Bill exhibited by Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Sen. Tayo Alasoadura, by the legislators at entire.
The Bill is the climax of quite a long while of endeavors at transforming the oil and gas industry.
The procedure started under previous President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000, with the foundation of Oil and Gas Implementation Committee ("OGIC").
"OGIC issued a report and approach record, which was later endorsed by the late Musa Yar' Adua's organization and brought about the Petroleum Industry Bill being sent to the sixth National Assembly."
The Bill experienced a few redrafts, including a discount change by the Executive arm of government, yet it at last neglected to be passed amid the sixth National Assembly.
In the fallout of the fuel endowment dissents in January 2012, the then Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke, declared the foundation of a specialized board of trustees to orchestrate the different variants of the draft charge.
The PIGB as passed tries to accommodate the administration and institutional system for the oil business.
In particular, the PIGB looks to unbundle the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), accommodate the foundation of Federal Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated and Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Others are Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company and National Petroleum Company and Petroleum Equalization Fund.
The administrative bill balkanises NNPC and makes the National Petroleum Commission.
It scraps the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and builds up the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission which will assume control over the elements of the three organizations.
It additionally enables the body to issue licenses, grants or authorisations for downstream gas, oil based goods, stockpiling stations, retail outlets, transportation and dispersion offices for the business.
The five percent fuel impose will be utilized to back the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) as set up in the bill.
This took after thought and appropriation of the gathering advisory group give an account of the PIGB at entire.
Segment 36 (1) (an) of the Bill gives that "there might be set up the Petroleum Equalization Fund into which should be paid all monies payable to the Equalization Fund by method for a five percent fuel require.
"This is in regard of all fuel sold and circulated inside the Federation which might be charged subject to the endorsement of the Minister (of Petroleum)".
Different wellsprings of subsidizing PEF, as indicated by the Bill, incorporate subventions, expenses and charges for administrations rendered and in addition net surplus income recuperated from oil based commodities promoting organizations.
The Bill says Equalization Fund might gather all incomes and duties charged, decide the net surplus income recoverable from any oil showcasing organization.
"Decide the measure of repayment because of any oil showcasing organization for motivations behind evening out of the cost of items among others.''
Talking after the bill was passed, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill.
"I trust with this, we will get the consent of the President and ideally open another page for the oil business," he said.
