Reps To Reintroduce PIB, Estimated Electricity Billing, Others

Age long Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be reintroduced and perhaps passed very soon by the House of Representatives.
The House would also reintroduce the bill prohibiting estimated billing in the power sector to permanently end the wastefulness and unfairness created by an unreliable and arbitrary system that imposes unforeseen costs on individuals and businesses alike.
There would also be the Education Bank Bill, designed to ensure that no child is unable to get a quality tertiary education in Nigeria due to a lack of means.
Another bill to work on is also the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Bill which will serve to broaden the Local Content Act and ensure the original intent of the Act is made real.
The Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, made the disclosures in his welcome address to the members of the House at plenary, yesterday.
It would be recalled that members on July 25, 2019, adjourned plenary session and proceeded on annual vacation.
In his address, Gbajabiamila said: “I fully expect that in this session, the House of Representatives will consider important legislation such as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
“I believe that we in this 9th Assembly are ideally suited to surmount the obstacles that have mitigated against passage of this essential reform legislation which is important if we are to properly address the structural, operational and policy challenges and inefficiencies in the Nigerian petroleum industry, and position the industry to best serve the interests of all the Nigerian people.
“In addition to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), we will see the reintroduction of the of Bill prohibiting Estimated Billing in the power industry, intended to put a permanent end to the wastefulness and unfairness created by an unreliable and arbitrary system that imposes unforeseen costs on individuals and businesses alike, the Education Bank Bill, designed to ensure that no child in this 21st century is unable to get a quality tertiary education in Nigeria due to a lack of means and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Bill which will serve to broaden the Local Content Act and ensure the original intent of the Act is made real in the lives of our people.”
The Speaker also asked all ad-hoc committees of the House saddled with one assignment or another to handover to the standing ones by the end of the month.
“All ad-hoc committees to wind up and handover to standing committees by September 30th”, he said.
Gbajabiamila also hinted that the House would soon receive the 2020 budget proposal from President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said: “Over the course of the recess, we convened two National Roundtable Discussions on reform of the budget process and on recovered assets. These roundtable sessions were intended to take a critical look at issues relating to the development, enactment, funding, implementation and evaluation of the national budget.
“The sessions provided an opportunity for institutional stakeholders from the executive and legislature to engage one another honestly on the problems of the appropriations process and the options for addressing those problems. It also allowed us to begin to prepare the ground for the 2020 Appropriations Bill which we expect will shortly be presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We look forward to receiving the Executive’s proposals and making sure they align with our national development objectives as well as the expectations and best interests of the Nigerian people.”
The Speaker also enjoined members of the House to unite in peace and unity for the progress of the nation.