…Untold story of how billions of naira was squandered to organise hearings
…Non-passage resulting in loss of over 1.4bn barrels of crude oil and gas worth over 17bn US dollars
…USA, India tops list of Nigeria oil and gas theft Bazaar in 4 years

Will it ever be passed?

Gas flaring and pollution arising from oil exploitation in the Niger Delta

IF recent indications are anything to go by, the Petroleum Industry Bill otherwise known as the PIB which has been in legislative abeyance for the past 17 years, may soon be passed into law by the National Assembly. According to media reports, the Senate made the passage of the bill a priority consideration soon after the  National Assembly resumed sitting after its annual recess.

Announcing the good news, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, informed that the PIB which encapsulates the recently passed Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB, was one of “several worthy bills at various stages of consideration” by relevant committees of the Senate.

But this is not the first time hope has been raised on the passage of the bill and dashed soon after. It has become a recurring decimal in the last 17 years. This is in spite of the  argument in many well-informed quarters over the years is that the long awaited passage of the PIB, which is considered the oldest bill in Nigeria, will be the best thing to happen to the oil sector and by extension the Nigerian economy. This derives from the belief that it will go a long way in dousing the recurring agitation and militancy in the Niger Delta and by extension facilitates Nigeria’s exit from recession.

This is a sentiment shared by the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa; the Special Adviser and coordinator of Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier-Gen. Paul Boroh; former Special Adviser to the President on Energy Matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, among several eminent personalities.

For instance, Dr Egbogah was recently quoted as arguing that the non-passage of the bill was responsible for the resurgence of agitation and hostility in the Niger Delta, including attacks on oil installations in some communities who feel aggrieved over the non-payment of 10 per cent of oil revenue to them as enshrined in the PIB. It was for this reason that he had  advised the National Assembly to make haste to pass the bill which he said will have a beneficial effect on the Nigerian economy.

In making a case for the speedy passage of the bill, a South-South based youth group, the Oil & Solid Mineral Producing Area Landlords Association of Nigeria, OMPALAN, said that remains the best option  to reduce youth restiveness and other forms of agitations that impede development, adding that the PIB gesture be equally extended to solid mineral producing states  “as we believe that Nigeria can thrive and develop faster when the God-given natural resources impact host communities positively and commensurately.”

Even some individual members of the National Assembly have spoken along this line. For instance, a member of House of Representatives, Sergius Ogun, recently told news men in Abuja that apart from helping to put an end to militancy in the Niger Delta, the passage of the PIB will have far-reaching beneficial impact on the oil and gas sector with the expected creation of a trust fund to address the development needs of the host communities through the enabling law. According to him: “The bill will create a trust fund that some percentage of monies will be paid to be used by these communities to develop the place. This is what is obtainable in Alaska in the United States of America. The individuals in host communities are captured and paid with certain percentage of the proceeds from the oil. It will give the communities a sense of belonging and end militancy and agitations in the  Niger Delta”.

Vanguard INSIGHT’s investigations however revealed that intrigues, confusion and the lack of political will on the part of the Executive arm of government have over the years stalled the passage of the bill, a reason why it has  remained contentiously in abeyance for 17 years. It was also gathered that the international oil companies, IOCs, also played a kill-joy role of ensuring that the bill remains in the archives since, indirectly, it would substantially reduce their earnings.

Also revealed is the fact that failure of the  NASS to pass the PIB has led to an unprecedented theft of crude oil and gas estimated to be over 1.4 billion barrels across the globe between 2011and 2014. The crude oil and gas in monetary terms is   said to be worth over $17 billion.

Public hearings and seminar

Over the past 17 years several billions of Naira of tax payers money had been spent by the National Assembly on the bill with regards to its passing through the third session, conducting public hearings and seminars across Nigeria without any concrete results to show for all these.

Background: PIB began its 17years sojourn in the NASS during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo with the inauguration of the Oil and Gas Reform Committee, OGRC, on April 24, 2000. Essentially, PIB, according to those who conceived it,  seeks “to establish the legal and regulatory framework, institutions and regulatory authorities for the Nigerian petroleum industry, to establish guidelines for the operation of the upstream and downstream sectors, and for  purposes connected with the same”.

The OGRC, consisting of over   two dozen local and international experts, was charged with reviewing and streamlining all existing petroleum laws and establishing a regulators framework for the sector to reflect and serve the interests of consumers, the environment and the operators.

The main objectives of the PIB include providing a framework for investing petroleum and natural gas assets and resources on behalf of the people of Nigeria, allocating acreage to   qualified companies, managing petroleum resources and allocating petroleum resources and their derivatives in Nigeria for the total benefits that will accrue to the sovereign state of Nigeria. In the 7th session, the House of Representatives made some amendments and recommendations.

In 2014, then Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee on PIB, Bawa   Abdullahi, said some recommendations were made with a few amendments. He said the zonal public hearings that took the committee through the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and Abuja were thorough and various stakeholders had the opportunity of making inputs to the bill so all the contentious areas were taken care of.

The original bill covered salient areas such as establishment of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, incorporation of National Gas Company, establishment of petroleum directorate and National Asset Management Company as well as imposition of new tax regime such as Nigeria Carbon Tax. In the report, the committee recommended the “complete removal” of section 191 of the bill that gives the president discretional powers to grant petroleum licences and lease and instead proposed biddings for the award of licences.

On the powers of the Minister of Petroleum, the committee retained the conventional powers of the   minister under section 6 of the bill but recommended the removal of powers of the minister either to serve as chairman or to recommend to the president the appointment of chairmen of boards of such agencies.

The committee also amended section 174 recommending that 30 per cent of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, shares be sold through public offers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, as well as section 185 proposing that 49 per cent of Nigerian Gas Company shares be sold through public offers at the Stock Exchange.