Amaechi Renews Call For PIB Passage

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has restated his call for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill ((PIB) currently before the National Assembly in order to add value to the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Governor Amaechi made this call while declaring open the 3rd Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Port Harcourt.
Represented by his deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, Governor Amaechi, said the call became imperative due to emerging changes in the global petroleum industry occasioned by the now rampant discovery of crude oil in numerous African countries and the United States discovery of technology to extract shale oil.
“The tides are turning. Maybe, some fifteen, twenty years ago, Nigeria was apparently the only country producing oil. We could choose who to sell to and who not to sell to. We could choose to beat prices and so on. If you listened very well in the course of this morning’s address, you will hear enumeration of several West African countries that have discovered oil to worsen the matter; the United States has now discovered a new technology for the extraction of shale oil. China has adopted this technology. United States has told us that in the next few years, precisely by 2022, they will stop importing 75% of the total crude they import today,” he said.
“In the next ten to fifteen years. The price of oil is likely to drop and even when you get your oil, you will have to beg somebody to buy it,” he said, and urged NUPENG to champion the course of passing of the PIB.
Meanwhile, Dangote, who was chairman of the occasion, said the desired reforms in the petroleum sector would only be achieved if the Federal Government could muster the required political will to conclusively drive the process. He described the bill as a bold step that would address the issue of corruption and ensure transparency in the sector.
The businessman, who was represented by Mr. Joseph Makoju, said the PIB is key to the survival of the Nigerian economy because it has the potential to attract investments and boost local capacity in the oil and gas industry.
However, NLC President, Omar, regretted that dark forces in the polity, particularly in the Executive and Legislative arms of government, as well as multinational corporations have been frustrating the passage of the bill. He described these dark forces as existential threat to the country.
According to Omar, crude oil production in the country has dropped in recent times. Therefore, the Federal Government should take decisive measures to end the menace of oil theft and artisanal refining, instead of lamenting haplessly.
Also, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, stressed that the passage of the PIB into law and the full implementation of government’s reforms would enhance Nigeria’s economy and drive growth.
For NUPENG President, Igwe Achese, some companies are leaving Nigeria to other African countries where oil has just been discovered in commercial quantity because of the delay in effecting holistic reforms in the country’s oil and gas sector.
Also speaking, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engr. Andrew Yakubu, represented by the Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, NNPC, Alhaji Ahmadu Sambo, stated that the Federal Government aims at transforming the sector from an oil-based industry to an integrated oil and gas industry by maximizing oil and gas sector value to the economy, revitalizing downstream capacity to support domestic energy needs and repositioning gas for rapid domestic regional and export penetration, noting that these reforms are embedded in the current PIB.
Speaking, President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, bemoaned the rise in crude oil theft in the country, stressing that government “must take the lead by acting rather than lamenting” to the curb the menace and rescue the industry from its adverse consequences.
Earlier in his welcome address, chief host and NUPENG President, Comrade Igwe Achese, said the conference with the  theme: “Reforms in the Oil and Gas Industry: Catalyst for National Growth and Development, (What Prospect for the attainment of Decent Work Agenda?” intends to focus on the employment situations in the country and the working conditions of oil and gas workers.

L-R: Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr Chris Onyemenam, President Goodluck Jonathan and the NIMC Board Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, at the official launch of the National Identity Programme at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday