The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr.
Emeka Ihedioha, on Thursday assured Nigerians that the Petroleum Industry Bill
would soon be passed into law.

Ihedioha gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ meeting on
the PIB organised by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted the deputy speaker as
saying the National Assembly would ensure that the PIB was crafted in a manner
that would create an efficient and competitive oil industry.

Ihedioha said, “The PIB is expected to lay a solid
foundation for the regulatory, structural, commercial and fiscal framework for
the operations of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria as well. This law, indeed,
is a major commitment to enthrone transparency and accountability in the oil
sector operations.

“Section 190 of the draft PIB provides for an award process
of petroleum licences and places NEITI at the heart of the award process.
Subsection 6 provides that all bids received based on the established bid
parameters shall be processed in accordance with the published guidelines and
monitored by NEITI. This provision in the draft bill has clearly assigned a
major responsibility to NEITI to protect our collective patrimony.”

Ihedioha said that the House of Representatives would surely
support the PIB because it considered the bill to be laudable.

“A resource-rich country like Nigeria must enjoy the fruits
of her God-given natural resources,’’ he said.

The Executive Secretary, NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said that
the objective of the forum was to sensitise stakeholders to the provisions of
the PIB, adding that NEITI planned to stimulate robust debates about the bill
for the purpose of helping the National Assembly to be more informed.

Ahmed said, “For us in NEITI, PIB is important because it
will drive the reforms in the country’s upstream and downstream oil sectors. It
will also provide solid foundation for the regulatory structural, commercial
and fiscal framework for the operators.