Headlines

Senate passes Petroleum Industry Bill

Published

3 years ago

July 1, 2021

The Senate has passed the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.

This followed approval of recommendations of the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum, (Downstream,) Petroleum (Upstream) and Gas at plenary on Thursday.
Presenting the report, Chairman of the committee, Mohammmed Sabo (APC-Jigawa), said the bill consisted of five distinct and logically connected chapters.
Sabo listed the chapters to include governance and institutions, administration, host communities development, petroleum industry fiscal framework and miscellaneous provisions, comprising 319 clauses and eight schedules.
He said the committee carried out its assignment effectively and conducted a public hearing to collate inputs from critical stakeholders and the Nigerian people.
Sabo said the committee reviewed the bill and all the memoranda submitted by stakeholders during the public hearing adding that the committee also embarked on on-the-spot assessments of impacted oil exploration communities.
This, he said was to critically examine issues raised by Senators during the second reading of the bill and consulted widely on the justifications for passing the bill into Law.
Sabo said the bill when passed into law “will strengthen accountability and transparency of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) Ltd as a full-fledged CAMA company under statutory and regulatory oversight with better returns to its shareholders and the Nigerian People’’.
On the Frontier Basins, he said the committee’s recommendation recognised the need for the country to explore and develop the country’s frontier basins.
This, he said was to take advantage of the foreseeable threats to the funding of fossil fuel projects across the world due to speedy shift from fossil fuel-to other alternative energy sources.
“To this end, the committee recommends funding mechanism of 30 per cent of NNPC Ltd profit oil and profit gas as in the production sharing, profit sharing, and risk service contracts to fund exploration of frontier basins,” Sabo said.

On host communities’ development, he said` `to ensure adequate development of the host communities and reduction in the cost of production, the Joint Committee recommends five per cent of the actual annual operating expenditure of the preceding financial year in the upstream petroleum operations affecting the host communities for funding of the Host Communities Trust Fund”.

According to him, in the past 10 years, the country has only attracted less than five per cent of the over 100 billion dollars capital investment inflow into Africa’s oil and gas industry.

He added that all stakeholders were in total support of the passage of the bill as there was no dissenting voice opposing its passage.

He described the bill as laudable and commendable saying that its passage would bring the long awaited change in the oil and gas industry.

However, Ahmed Baba Kaita (APC-Kastina) moved a motion for the reduction of funding of host community trust fund to 3 per cent as against the 5 per cent earlier recommended by the committee.

The motion which was adopted, resulted to dissenting views by senators James Manager(PDP-Delta),Bassey Akpan(PDP-Cross-River), George Sekibo(PDP-Rivers) among others.

Sekibo, having cited order 17 of the Senate rule called for division to contest the decision to reduce funding of host community trust fund to 3 per cent.

However, Leader of the Senate, Abdullahi Yahaya (APC- Kebbi) said the call for division was not in the interest of the Senate and the nation, describing the situation as heading for “Armageddon.”
He called for a withdrawal of the call for a division in the Senate, saying that the senate in its two years of existence had worked in a peaceful and a bipartisan manner.
Manager urged the Senate to increase the funding for host community trust fund given the economic contributions of the people of Niger-Delta over the years.
According to him, no amount is too small for the people of the region.
President of Senate, Ahmad Lawan, prevailed on George Sekibo to rescind his earlier call for division.
“The Senate expects President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the PIB after harmonisation with the House of Representatives,” he said.

Our correspondent report that the bill was the first in a series of long awaited petroleum industry laws designed to reform the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The PIB is an omnibus law, meant to regulate the entire sphere of the industry and repeal all current existing oil and gas legislation.
It struggled to see the light of day in spite of its introduction to the National Assembly over 16 years ago.

NAN

Headlines

Commission, journalists partner to revamp water sector in Kaduna

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

The Kaduna State Water Services Regulatory Commission (KADWREC) says it is partnering media practitioners towards revamping water services in the state.

Mr Dogara Bashir, the Executive Chairman of KADWREC, disclosed this on Monday at a one-day workshop organised for media practitioners on regulation of ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene’ (WASH) activities held in Kaduna.

Bashir said the commission was aware of the importance of the role media practitioners played in the society.

He stated that the workshop was to provide an avenue to liaise with them as important stakeholders on water supply and sanitation services in the state.

Bashir said: “As media practitioners, we believe you are a gateway to the citizens so, the workshop would acquaint you with some of the regulations already in place so that you can in turn transmit it to the public

“The state of water services in Kaduna State is in dire need of attention and the State Water Corporation and KADWREC were established towards addressing the seeming challenges.

“The commission is mandated to ensure better service delivery and regulation of water and sanitation services in the State.

“The idea is that once the regulations are developed, we send them to the State Ministry of Justice to gazette and then we get the state government to endorse and give the go ahead to commence the implementation of the regulations

“We intend to implement them fully come January, 2025 God willing, as we have embarked on advocacy activities having gone to zones 1 and 2 where we talked to traditional rulers, security agencies and the Judiciary.”

He disclosed that a special Court has already been attached to the commission by the Chief Judge of the State for service providers who may likely violate regulations.

The chairman further said that amongst the commission’s objectives include ensuring security, reliability and quality of service in the production and delivery of water to the consumers as well making regulations to control the sinking of boreholes.

Others included; maximising access to water services by promoting and facilitating consumer connections to distribution systems in urban and rural areas.

According to Bashir, they also include ensuring that regulatory decision-making has regards to all the relevant health, safety, environmental and social legislation applying to the water sector.

Bashir further said that the commission collaborate with the relevant state and federal agencies on water policies.

Crime

2 ladies docked for allegedly obtaining money by fraud

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.

Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.

They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.

He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.

The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.

He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.

He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.

Headlines

Driver jailed 6 months for attempting to steal a car

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday, sentenced a 37-year-old driver, Ahmad Umar to six months in imprisonment for attempting to steal a car.

The Magistrate, Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Bokkos in his judgment, ordered the convict to pay an option of N30, 000 fine or spend six months in prison.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp Ibrahim Gokwat, told the court that the case was reported on Oct. 10, at the Area Command Police station through a distress call by one Sydney Peacemorie the complainant.

Gokwat said the complainant parked his Toyota RAV4 in front of Access Bank and went inside to carry out some transactions, only to return to find the convict inside his car.

“The convict unlawfully opened the car and was in the driver’s seat when the complainant raised alarm and he was apprehended, but his accomplice escaped.

“The convict was severely beaten by a mob but was rescued by the police,” said Gokwat.

“The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the Plateau Penal Code Law.