By Henry Umoru

THE Presidency has described the passage of the complete version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which defied passage in previous assemblies over the last twenty years by the Senate as a jinx that has indeed been broken.

In a statement Thursday by the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare said that breaking the jinx with the passage was a testament that the Executive and the Legislature can really work together and truly engage each other, without compromising party position and individual perspective, in the most positive manner with a view to actualising the common goal and communal good for Nigerians.

Omoworare congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari, the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker House Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill by the National Assembly.

The statement read, “The Senior Special Assistant to the President on NASS Senate, Senator Babajide Omoworare CON congratulates President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate President Ahmed Lawan, and the Speaker House Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill by the National Assembly.

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“It should be noted that the efforts by the Executive and Legislature in Nigeria to put in place contemporary legislative and legal framework in the oil and gas sector has proved abortive since the year 2000; also, the non-amendment of the extant framework being the Petroleum Act of 1967, has affected inflow of Foreign Direct Investment as well as growth in Local Content.

“Breaking this jinx and achieving this feat is a testament that the Executive and the Legislature can really work together and truly engage each other, without compromising party position and individual perspective, in the most positive manner with a view to actualizing the common goal and communal good for Nigerians.

“I would like to thank the entire Leadership and Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylvia, and the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Mele Kolo Kyari for their focused and tenacious attitude to achieving this milestone.”

Vanguard News Nigeria