The Senate, Thursday, introduced a bill seeking to establish the Bitumen Development Commission for official regulation of bitumen exploration, development and exportation.
The bill, which scaled first reading during plenary, was sponsored by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (Ondo South).
Ibrahim said the proposed legislation was intended to make bitumen as an alternative revenue spinning product in Nigeria, which has the second highest deposit in the world after Canada.
The proposed commission, according to the draft copy of the bill, should be sited in any of the three towns with high deposit of bitumen in Ondo State which are Ode-Irele, Agbabu and Igbotako.
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The lawmaker, in a chat with newsmen, said the commission, when established, would also facilitate execution of road infrastructure across the country and also create jobs for Nigerians, particularly geologists whose expertise would be needed in its exploration.
He said, “If the proposed legislation scales through in both the Senate and the House of Representatives with the attendant establishment of Bitumen Development Commission after presidential assent, it would be the first law on exploration, development and possibly exportation of bitumen in Nigeria,” he said.
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