The Senate has broken its silence over the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, blaming it on the disagreement over the host community clause in the document, pledging that the Upper Chambers would take on the management framework upon resumption from their recess.
This was disclosed yesterday by the Senate’s spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, who stated that the sensitivity of the host community relationship stalled the process of the passage of the PIB, disclosing that many experts have been urging the Senate to revisit the bill.
According to the Senate spokesman, “The Senate is already primed because most experts have submitted that we need to do something about the PIB.
“And you know the Senate was billed in our own wisdom, rather than take the whole hog of PIB, to turn in to about one or two components, we wanted to take the management framework but because of the sensitivity of the host community relationship and benefit sharing issue, that issue met some brick wall even before it went ahead.
“And so, we thought it wise to keep it down. But I’m convinced beyond reasonable doubt that by the time we come back from recess that issue will still get a front burner attention because it’s key to whatever changes we want to see done, going forward on a sustainable basis in the oil and gas industry.”
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