Nigeria’s oil industry is consistently losing huge investments as a result of delay in the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Delta State governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has said.
Governor Okowa stated this Monday when he received the Co-Chairman, National Assembly Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill, Rt. Hon. Mohammed Monguno and members of the committee at Government House, Asaba.
Okowa said investments in the nation’s oil industry would be upscale as soon as the Bill is passed.
According to him, the people of Niger Delta were gladden to hear of the renewed commitment of federal lawmakers towards passing of the PIB.
The governor expressed delight with the inclusion of Host Communities Fund in the Bill, saying that the provision of the fund would make the people part-owners of the ventures and encourage them to secure oil facilities.
He acknowledged that the committee members were in the state “for a very important assignment, something that we have not been able to achieve as a county in the last 14 years”.
He added that, “if you do achieve it, your name will be definitely written in gold because for too long we have been talking about this bill and we are already endangering the oil industry.
“People are agitated towards the direction of the PIB and when there is an anticipation and action is not clearly taken, it leads to the loss of investment opportunities because people are worried about the direction of the industry.
“There is no doubt that oil exploration has kept our economy but over time it has caused so much pain to our people and this bill is geared towards addressing some of those pains”.
Earlier, Monguno who is the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, said his team was in Delta in furtherance of the legislative processes leading to the passage of the PIB.
He said that the National Assembly was working closely with the Executive arm and other stakeholders to ensure the passage of the Bill.
“We have promised Nigerians that by the end of April we will pass this all-important bill.
“We are committed this time around to pass the bill for the good of Nigeria.
“There is need for us as a country to reform the oil and gas sector, especially as the world is moving away from fossil fuel to renewable energy and it is important we take advantage of the opportunities available,” Monguno said.
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