18 April 2013, Lagos – The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has called on members of the National Assembly to urgently pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.
President of the association, Mr Babatunde Ogun, made the call, Wednesday, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos, added that its urgent passage was for the benefit of the people.
He said that the quick passage of the bill was important because of discovery of new oil fields in other parts of Africa.
According to him, while the country was delaying the passage of the bill, other African countries were attracting investors.
“We cannot, therefore, afford the luxury of time, while unnecessary bickering continues over such an important bill on a sector that is the main stay of the economy.
“The Petroleum Industry accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign exchange, about 40 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and 80 per cent of government revenue”.
Ogun further urged the Federal Government to create a section in the bill that would make it compulsory to invest 20 per cent of all income from oil in the oil sector.
He added that some of the percentage should be invested in the solid mineral sector.
The PENGASSAN president said that if the section was created, it would save the legislators from debating crude oil price bench mark and help them focus on the growth of the national economy.
Ogun said that the bill represented a great opportunity for Nigerians to ensure a solid foundation on which the future of oil and gas operations in the country would rest.
He also said that the bill, if passed, would ensure that agencies and companies in the sector would be bound by the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.
