The Nigerian Senate says further consideration and eventual passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) would be in the first Quarter of 2018, as the federal lawmakers have resolved to prioritize passage of the 2018 budget presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday by the President.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum, Upstream, Senator Omotayo Alasoadura, stated this on Wednesday while making a presentation at the ongoing 7th Practical Nigerian Content Forum. He said although the Senate President had assured that the PIGB would be passed before the end of 2017, prevailing circumstances have shown that the promise is not feasible.
“The PIB will be passed in the first quarter of next year and this is because of the budget that was presented to the National Assembly by the President on Tuesday. He (Buhari) asked us to do all we can in order to pass the budget before the end of this year.
“So, there is much work to be done by the National Assembly on the budget and as a result of this, we won’t or may not have all the time to go through all that is needed for the passage of the PIB before the end of this year.
“The Senate president wants it to be done before the end of this year, but I have to be practical. For with the budget in place, I think we need to concentrate on its passage so that its implementation can also take effect in good time.”
