Thursday, November 3, 2016

Senate Move To Unbundle NNPC,Passes PIB For Second Reading

                                    Billedresultat for saraki
The Senate yesterday commenced moves to whittle down the powers of the Petroleum Minister in the regulation of the oil and gas sector of the country.

The move was sequel to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, sponsored by Senator Tayo Alasoadura (APC, Ondo Central).

The bill which has been hanging at the National Assembly since the era of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua scaled through second reading at the Senate yesterday.

At the moment, the Minister of Petroleum Resources supervises the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and also chairs the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Leading the debate on the bill, Alasoadura said the lack of clear separation of government roles in the industry has hindered competition and given ample room for sustained failures in governance and performance.

“In addition, and in particular, the country is being robbed of huge revenues as a result of mismanagement of the NNPC having in mind the intrusive control of the government in the affairs of the corporation, the confusion with the regulator as well as funding difficulties, “he said.
He said four other bills on Upstream fiscal, Upstream, Downstream and Gas administration matters as well as Revenue Management would be presented to reposition the Nigerian oil and gas industry for sustainable growth.


The draft law proposed that the Minister, “shall be responsible for policy formulation and supervision of the affairs of the petroleum industry on behalf of the Federal Government.”
It also proposed the unbundling of the NNPC into two commercial entities including the National Petroleum Company (NPC)  and the National Assets Management Company (NAMC).


The draft law also proposed the establishment of Petroleum Regulatory Commission (PRC) to serve as the regulator and watchdog responsible for licensing, monitoring, supervision of petroleum operations  enforcing laws, regulations and standards across the value chain.
Supporting the bill, Senator Barnabas Gemade( APC, Benue Northeast) said it passage would address the challenges facing the country’s petroleum sector.


Speaking on the bill, Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South) said the passage of the bill won’t make impact if issues affecting the host communities are not addressed.
“The discovery of oil in Bayelsa state has brought abundant blessing to all but this blessing is a fairly terrible curse to the people of Niger Delta. The objective of this Bill can only be achieved in a friendly and peaceful environment, if the next bill is about the oil bearing parts of the country, “he said.
In his remark, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said the issue of the host communities would be addressed in subsequent bill.
“I want to give commitment that before we produce the final copy, we must bring the bill on host communities, “he said.
He therefore referred the bill to the Senate Committees on Gas, Petroleum (Downstream) and Petroleum (Upstream) for further legislative actions with a timeframe of four weeks.

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