FG set to unveil three new segments of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). cc @DrJoeAbah

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed that the Presidency will present to the National Assembly three harmonised bills from the omnibus Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

During an interview in his office in Abuja, the minister disclosed: “There are going to be three bills. 

First, what we have currently is the Senate bill. The House of Representatives hasn’t put out any bill, and the government hasn’t either”. 

Kachikwu, however, clarified that “Part of the segmenting (of the bill) is to enable the lawmakers to begin to pass some, while some are still being debated. But I think that once we get this out, there will be lots of engagements and as people are willing to accommodate here and there, we will be able to get it passed”.

Although he did not give further details about the expected bills, Kachikwu explained: “We are almost at the final stages of completion of a comprehensive executive version of the PIB on all three stages, which we will put before the National Assembly to help the discourse. We are finishing that and it will go through the Federal Executive Council, and we will later schedule it for stakeholders’ inputs. We are working feverishly to conclude that before the lawmakers return from recess so it can go through the rigours of getting passed. (The Guardian)