Tag: second reading

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE HOLD FINAL PUBLIC HEARING ON PIB

The House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc Committee on the Petroleum Industry Bill (“PIB”) in a communiqué issued on Monday, July 8, 2013, has notified the general public of its final public hearing on the Bill.

Members of the public, especially industry stakeholders, professional / interest groups, host communities, state and local governments, have been invited to make representations to the Ad-hoc Committee on the PIB on Wednesday, 9th and Thursday, 10th July 2013 at the New Wing of the House of Representatives National Assembly Complex, Abuja. All memoranda on the Bill are required to be typed, hardcover bound and produced in twenty (20) copies.

The House of Representatives’ hearing is to be followed by a two-day public hearing by the Senate’s Joint Committee on the PIB.

The Senate’s public hearing, taking place on Tuesday, 16th and Wednesday, 17th July, 2013 at Conference Room 022, New Senate Wing National Assembly Complex, is to host the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the 36 State Governors as well as heads of government Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the first day, and on the second day, Managing Directors of International and National Oil Companies, the Nigerian Labour Congress, Petroleum Marketers, industry stake holders and members of the public.

Stakeholders and interested members of the public willing to make representations on the Bill to the Senate’s Joint Committee are required to submit their memoranda in fifty (50) hard copies and one (1) soft copy to the Committee’s Secretariat in Room SB 10 (Red Carpet), (White House), the Senate National Assembly Complex, Abuja on or before Thursday 11th July, 2013.

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PIB SENATE COMMITTEES TO REPORT TO THE SENATE IN 6 WEEKS

It has been reported (here and here) that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) on Thursday, March 6, 2013, scaled through the Second Reading on the floor of the Senate and has been passed on to the Senate Committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream), Gas and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

Senators Emmanuel Paulker (Bayelsa Central), Chairman Committee on Petroleum(Upstream); Magnus Abe (Rivers South/East), Chairman Committee on Petroleum(Downstream); Nkechi Justina Nwaogu (Abia Central), Chairman Gas Committee; and Umaru Dahiru (Sokoto South), Chairman Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters are charged with collating the views of the Senate on the Bill together with those of the public, which would be received through public hearings, and report same to the House within six (6) weeks.

The Senate President, David Mark commended the accord shown by his colleagues in getting the Bill passed to the Committee Stage and expressed his delight that the Bill had enjoyed robust debate as no fewer than 81 Senators had made contributions on the Bill over the past 3 days.

Mark summarized the general issues the Senate had with the Bill as:

  1. The provision for a Petroleum      Host Community Fund;
  2. The insufficiency with regards      frontier exploration; and
  3. The excessive powers of the Minister      of Petroleum.

He also made note as to the impracticability of certain portions of the Bill such as the Bill exempting the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) assets to be privatized from provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

Although he pointed out that the Bill was a “worthy Bill”, he also mentioned that no Bill had come through the Senate and not been tinkered with. He assured the House that subsequent to the public hearings, “amendments, additions and subtractions” will be made to the legislation.