Gbajabiamila Assures PIB, Electoral Act Passage In Two Weeks …As Senate Debates PIB Report, ’Morrow

Baring any change of plans, the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will be passed into law in two weeks’ time.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila made the disclosure during the lower chamber’s plenary, yesterday.
He also reiterated the commitment of the House of Representatives to pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as well as the Supplementary Budget into law.
Gbajabiamila, who read a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking parliamentary approval of the 2021 Supplementary Appropriation Bill of N895.8billion, disclosed at plenary, yesterday.
He encouraged the House to work together within the time frame to ensure the passage of the three pieces of legislation.
He said, “I will be meeting with the Ad-Hoc Committee on PIB, today by 3 pm to tidy up some things. We need to pass these pieces of legislation before we go on the annual break. Two weeks is a very short time. We must do it all. These are landmark legislations, including the supplementary budget.”
Meanwhile, the Senate will, today, consider the 2021 Supplementary Budget of N895.8billion.
The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, said this in his remarks on a Point of Order raised by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sen. Jibrin Barau, during plenary, yesterday.
Barau had raised Point of Order 43 of the Senate Standing Rules, seeking for more time to submit the report on “A Supplementary Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N895, 842, 465, 917.
“We were given the mandate to submit the report today (Tuesday).
“I want to inform this distinguished Senate that we have started work on the bill. We discovered that we needed more time because we feel we must meet the minimum standard set out by the rules of this Senate in processing the bill.’’
According to him, the time we expect we will be able to do this is this week, and then get our report submitted next Tuesday.
“I appeal to this distinguished Senate to permit us to submit our report on Tuesday next week.’’
President of the Senate while interjecting said, “chairman, you will not have more than today.
“This is a very straightforward Supplementary Budget request. So, it doesn’t need two weeks working on it. And you remember, we have a line-up of so many important bills to consider in this Senate.
“So, you have today. You lay tomorrow, we receive tomorrow, please. Because I am sure you had the entire weekend from Wednesday, almost six days. That should be enough. These are just two sectors.
“It is not a complicated thing. So, you don’t need up to Tuesday next week. So, you submit tomorrow (Wednesday) please,’’ Lawan said.
It would be recalled that a Supplementary Bill for an Act to authorise the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, the total sum of N895, 842, 465, 917 on June 23, scaled second reading in the Senate.
President Muhammadu Buhari had sent a request for supplementary budget to the upper chamber in a bid to help fight insecurity and purchase vaccines in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
Similarly, the Senate will, tomorrow, debate the report of its joint committees on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) on the Petroleum Industry Bill.
The Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, disclosed this, yesterday, after the chairman of the panel, Senator Mohammed Sabo (Jigawa South West) submitted the committees’ report.
Lawan said, “We will be considering the report on Thursday. We have today, tomorrow and Thursday to look at the report so that when we consider the report, we will be doing so on the basis of what we have been able to read from this very important report.”
The Senate President urged the Joint Committee to provide lawmakers with copies of the bill ahead of its consideration to enable them study its content.
“Let me use the opportunity to thank our Joint Committee for working so hard, selflessly and patriotically to produce the report on the Petroleum Industry Bill.
“This report, a copy each, must be made available to each and every senator today, this afternoon.
“I don’t know how the committee would arrange it, but every senator must have a copy today.
“And we would be considering the report on Thursday.
“So, we have today, tomorrow until the beginning of Thursday to look at the report so that when we consider it, we will be doing so on the basis of what we have been able to read from this very important report,” Lawan said.
The bill seeks to establish a framework for the creation of commercially-oriented and profit-driven petroleum entities, to ensure value addition and internationalisation of the petroleum industry, through the creation of efficient and effective governing institutions with clear and separate roles for the petroleum industry.
The bill is the first in a series of long awaited petroleum industry laws designed to reform the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The PIB, an omnibus law meant to regulate the entire sphere of the industry and repeal all current existing oil and gas legislation, had struggled to see the light of day ins spite of its introduction to the National Assembly over 16 years ago.
Subsequently, the National Assembly decided to break the PIB into a number of different pieces of legislation guiding specific aspects of the industry.
Senate also at plenary considered for first reading, five bills.
The bills are, Recovery of Premises Act 1995 repeal and re-enactment Bill 2021, sponsored by Sen.Odey Stephen (PDP Cross -River); Federal University of Technology Akwa Ibom Establishment Bill, 2021 by Sen. Akpan Bassey (PDP Akwa Ibom); Federal University of Technology Jigawa Establishment Bill, 2021 by Sen.Mohammed Sabo (APC-Jigawa).
Others are, Mortage Institutions and Allied Matters Act Amendment Bill, 2021 by Sen.Ibikunle Amosu (APC-Ogun); and National Research and Innovation Council Establishment Bill, 2021 by Sen.Ibezim Chukwuma (APC-Imo).