Nigeria’s National Assembly has been commended for passing the Petroleum Industry Bill PIB.
The Nigerian Labour Congress NLC in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the Congress “received with relief the news of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
“It is remarkable that after about twenty years of wait since President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua first submitted the PIB to the National Assembly, the PIB, is finally becoming a reality”, he said.
He commended the Senate and the House of Representatives for rising to the occasion adding that the process of making the PIB a law has not been completely consummated as the passed bill would still need to be harmonized by a Conference of the two Chambers of the National Assembly.
President Muhammadu Buhari is also expected to sign the bill into law.
According to Wabba, there are a few more hurdles to cross.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress while taking in this moment of legislative jinx breaking, wishes to draw the attention of the National Assembly of the need to handle with utmost care the very sensitive issue of the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)”.
The bill as passed by the upper chamber of the National Assembly retained the recommendation of the Joint Committee in Clause 53 which empowers the Minister of Petroleum Resources to incorporate the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation as a limited liability Company to be known as NNPC Limited.
This is expected to take effect six months after the commencement of the Petroleum Industry Act.
The PIB has 319 clauses, 5 chapters and 8 Schedules and is promoted by government as an instrument for increased transparency, services delivery and global competitiveness for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Clause 53 according to the statement by the NLC, mandates the Minister of Petroleum Resources at the incorporation of NNPC Limited, to consult with the Minister of Finance to determine the number and nominal value of the shares to be allotted, which would form the initial paid-up share capital of NNPC Limited.
“Consequently, the Senate approved ownership of all shares in NNPC Limited to be vested in the Government at incorporation and held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated on behalf of the Government.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress as part of its input to the Petroleum Industry Bill during its appearance at the public hearing canvassed that the NNPC should be transformed into a Public Liability Company where every Nigerian can own shares”.
The NLC President believes that the desire to make the Nigerian people stakeholders in the commonwealth of the country appeared to have fared quite well in the Senate’s consideration saying that the feeling was commendable.
“Congress is, however, concerned that unlike the Senate representation of Clause 53, Clause 53 of the PIB as passed by the House of Representatives does not seem to sufficiently capture this desire of the Nigerian people.
“This is a major blight in the PIB. It is not good enough” Wabba said.
The Nigeria Labour Congress also urged the National Assembly during its Conference to harmonize the two versions of the passed bill pursuant to the Senate’s representation of Clause 53 by effectively sanctioning the transformation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation into a Public Liability Company.
This it said, would project the democratic appeal of the PIB as a legal instrument that caters for the masses of Nigeria; “Poor and ordinary Nigerians who have endured the shorter end of the stick under the old petroleum law deserve better.
“The Nigeria Labour Congress also understands that there are very serious concerns and agitations by oil bearing host communities on a number of issues.
“The most topical appears to be the percentage of revenue proposed in the PIB as accruing to oil producing communities”.
The Nigeria Labour Congress said it also observed the non-inclusion of workers in the governing structures of the proposed commercial and regulatory institutions and organisations that would emerge from the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The NLC demanded that relevant workers’ representative organisations in the oil industry especially the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers NUPENG and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN should be included in the administrative structures in the proposed regulatory and commercial organisations in Nigeria’s oil industry.
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