A Bill for an Act to provide a framework relating to petroleum producing host community’s participation, cost and benefit sharing among government, petroleum exploration companies and petroleum host communities, has passed second reading at the Senate.
The bill, which passed second reading following an unanimous adoption by the lawmakers through a voice vote at plenary, yesterday, was sponsored by Sen. Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara-APC) and members of the Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources.
The bill, which is one of the tranches of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), scaled first reading on December 8, 2016.
Leading debate on the bill, Marafa said the bill was structured to bring direct funding for the development of host communities.
He said the bill recognised the pitfalls of past efforts and is structured to bring direct funding for the development of the petroleum host communities under the direction and control of the communities themselves.
According to him, when enacted into law the bill will create the much desired harmony and partnership among various stakeholders in the petroleum operation process.
He added that it would engender huge cost savings, extensive investment and overall transformations of the Nigeria oil and gas industry.
The lawmaker further said that the passage of the bill would help in curbing restiveness, by assuaging the fears of petroleum host communities and providing a veritable regime of compensation directly to the communities.
He noted that it would enable the host communities develop their local infrastructure, educate their people, access health care and earn a livelihood.
He added that the development would enable them cope with the devastated environment foisted on them by the poorly managed petroleum producing activities of the oil companies.
Marafa pointed out that the bill sought to establish a pool of funding for development of petroleum host communities and specifies the sources of this funding.
He maintained that the pool would be funded through a direct contribution from petroleum producing companies.
The senator also said that the bill defined petroleum host communities that would be beneficiaries of the fund.
According to him, the bill also provides reciprocal responsibilities on the part of communities by creating grounds for deductions for repair of any damaged oil facilities resulting from sabotage.
“The bill also sets out the requirements for account and audit of fund paid to petroleum host communities,
“Agitation for participation for host community in petroleum business and the conferment of financial and other benefits of the industry on such communities is as old as the petroleum industry in Nigeria.
“In fact this has been a critical issue of deliberation at several national forums and even here in the National Assembly.
“Over the years government has attempted to address this issue by providing forms of palliatives to the host communities but this has always fallen short of the expectations of the people in the manner in which it was conceived.
“This bill is presented in line with the perspective of this 8th Senate to split the PIB into smaller partitions to allow for easier consideration and where necessary further amendments,’’ he said.
He said the financial implications of the bill would result from the registration of Petroleum Host Communities Associations and National Committee on Petroleum Host Communities.
He said cost of registration of Petroleum Host Communities Associations would be borne by relevant communities.
He added that the running cost of National Committee on Petroleum Host Communities would be deducted from funds payable to petroleum host communities by petroleum producing companies.
“No funds are needed to be appropriated by the National Assembly for funding Host Communities Associations and National Committee on Petroleum Host Communities.’’
The lawmaker noted that the bill would provide the requisite succour to host communities that had borne the brunt of oil production activities, ensure peaceful co-existence and substantial investment to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Contributing, Sen. James Manager (PDP-Delta), said the 8th Senate had made history for the level of achievement with regard to the ensuring the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill that had lingered for long.
He commended the sponsor of the bill for an extensive job that would be of benefit to all stakeholders in the industry, particularly the host communities.
According to him, “when passed into law, petroleum host communities will heave a sigh of relief.’’
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, referred the bill to the Joint Committee on Upstream, Downstream and Gas for further legislative action after putting it to a voice vote.
The joint committee was mandated to report back in four weeks.
Similarly, the Senate, yesterday, passed the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Agency (NSIA) Bill as a central body in Nigeria responsible for receiving, requesting, analysing and disseminating financial intelligence reports and other information to law enforcement agencies.
This followed the consideration of the report of the Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes presented to the Senate by its chairman, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi during plenary.
The Bill, which was only read for the first time, penultimate Thursday, passed second reading last Tuesday and was approved by the upper legislative chamber on Thursday, exactly one week after.
With the passage of the Bill, the risk of Nigeria being expelled from the Egmont Group has been reduced by half as the bill is just waiting for presidential assent to become law.
The Egmont Group is a network of national financial intelligence units and the highest inter-governmental association of intelligence agencies in the world, with 154 member countries including Britain and the U.S.
Nigeria is currently serving a suspension from the group arising from the non-establishment of the NFIA as a unit standing autonomously.
The group accused the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu of interfering with the affairs of the unit and sharing information that should be confidential to the unit with others including the media.
The group had also threatened to expel Nigeria permanently by January 2018 if the Nigerian government failed to grant the unit the autonomy it required to be a member of the EGMONT group.
It is in a bid to save Nigeria from being expelled that the Senate gave accelerated passage to the Bill without conducting a Public Hearing.
It would be recalled that the NFIA, if given the Presidential assent, would act as the central body in Nigeria responsible for requesting, receiving, analysing and disseminating financial information to law enforcement agencies.
Speaking further on the Bill, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi, said the proposal sought to make the unit, which is currently domiciled under the EFCC an autonomous and independent body.
He said that the unit was the backbone of the EFCC but had to be made autonomous as pre-requisite of being a full member of the Egmont Group.
Under the passed Bill, the NFIA would now be domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and also report to the National Assembly.
The unit, which represents Nigeria at the global body, is charged with tackling money laundering and monitoring financial flows, a task made easy by its membership of the EGMONT Group.
In his remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, thanked all the senators for ensuring they expedited the process leading to the passage of “this very important bill.
“We believe that this is a major contribution in the fight against corruption in Nigeria and believe the international community will take us more seriously for taking the step today.
“I hope that Egmont Group will also take the decision to lift the suspension on Nigeria because of this step we have taken today.
“The fact of relocating the agency under the CBN will give other agencies sufficient access to the job of this agency in such a way that there will be no control of the NFIU that will not lead Nigeria to another round of suspension.”
He said that the Senate had taken the right step especially when it considered that they had was in consonant with what was done in other countries of the world where they had similar agencies.
Meanwhile, the Senate adjourned sitting to September 19 after deliberations on the two bills.
However, as the 8th Senate winds its second session, the upper chamber has approved amendments of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to clear certain ambiguities in the extant law.
The Senate also condemned, “non-transparent process” being adopted by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in concessioning of the Port Harcourt Refinery to ENI/AGIP and OANDO.
The lawmakers, therefore, resolved that every the process of the deal henceforth be stopped while advertisement and open bidding for transparency should be adopted for every maintenance of the refinery.
In the new amendment to the NDDC Act, “an indigene of an oil producing area” to  be appointed into the NDDC Governing Board has been clarified to read “an indigene of an oil producing local government area”.
Three PIB related bills, Bill for an Act to Establish a Fiscal Framework, A Bill for an Act to provide for Administrative Framework for the Petroleum Industry and the Host Community Bill passed second reading in the Senate chambers.
The host communities’ bill, provides for Petroleum Host Community Associations (PHCA) “to be funded through a direct contribution from petroleum producing companies”.
The Bill also provides for National Committee on Petroleum Host (NCPHC) Communities designed solely to be “a small advisory body which provides support to the Petroleum Host Community Associations when required”.
According to the provisions of the bill, the cost of Registration of the PHCA will be borne by relevant communities, while the running cost of the NCPHC will be deducted from the funds payable to the communities.
The bills would be subjected to Public Hearings before final passage by the National Assembly when Senate resumes plenary Sitting (after annual recess) on September 19, 2017.

Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja