SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, (THEWILL) –Â The National Assembly, on Wednesday, passed the harmonised Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).
The passage followed the consideration and adoption of the conference committee report on the bill.
The two chambers of the national assembly set up the conference committee after the house of representatives passed a slightly different version of the bill on January 17 while the senate passed its version in July 2017.
However, Nigerians will have to pay more for fuel as the lawmakers passed the Bill with five percent levy on fuel sold across the country to be used to fund the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) as reflected in the new bill.
Going by Section 36 (1) (a) of the bill, “There shall be established the Petroleum Equalisation Fund into which shall be paid all monies payable to the Equalisation Fund by way of a 5 percent fuel levy in respect of all fuel sold and distributed within the Federation which shall be charged subject to the approval of the Minister (of Petroleum).”
The harmonised bill is expected to be sent to President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday for his assent as Senate President Bukola Saraki urged President Buhari to sign the bill into law.
“I hope with this, we will get the assent of Mr President and hopefully open a new page for the petroleum industry,” he said.
If the bill is signed into law, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will be unbundled and will be replaced with the National Petroleum Commission.
The Bill calls for the establishment of Federal Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated, Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company and National Petroleum Company and Petroleum Equalisation Fund.
If it eventually becomes law, existing agencies, like the Petroleum Inspectorate, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) will be abolished.
