The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Wednesday said the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will be passed into law in April.
The Speaker gave Nigerians this assurance at the public hearing organized by the Ad-hoc Committee of the House on the bill.
“We intend to pass this bill by April. That is the commitment we have made. Some may consider it a tall order but we will do it without compromising the thoroughness,” Gbajabiamila said while making a remark at the hearing.
Also speaking at the public hearing, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Silva, expressed his joy that after 20 years of its introduction to the National Assembly, both the Senate and the House have shown sustained determination to pass the bill into law.
On his part, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, was optimistic that oil will still be relevant in the next 30 years.
Kyari said the passage of the bill into law will bring about the needed vigour and transparency that would, in turn, engender productivity in the petroleum industry.
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mohammed Nami who also spoke, said:
“The bill, when passed into law, will promote economic growth and make the petroleum sector competitive.
“FIRS is in total support to develop the oil and gas industry in line with international best practices”.