Skip to main content

Be realistic in oil, gas industry reforms, OPS tells FG

By Ediri Ejoh The Organised Private Sector, OPS, has called on the federal government to take a more realistic path in the ongoing efforts to restructure the country’s oil and gas industry.

Image result for Be realistic in oil, gas industry reforms, OPS tells FG
In a statement by Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, the group regretted failure of the 7th National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, even when additional efforts were made to pass the 2012 version of the Bill as well as similar failed attempts at prior parliamentary sessions.

“We have observed over the past 10 years the inability of Nigeria to drive reform in the oil and gas industry that will position our country as the preferred destination for investment in that sector of the economy. “One of the reasons for this development is, of course, the failure of successive governments to articulate the appropriate legal framework that will underpin this reform.

 At some point in time, all efforts at achieving that descended into confusion as we had countless number of versions of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly, with no one in particular in the know of which version of the bills the National Assembly was deliberating on”, he observed. He noted that it was a refreshing relief when this dispensation of the National Assembly came up with the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), which is the only bill before the National Assembly to jump-start the long needed reform in the Oil and Gas Sector.

 The group therefore commended the National Assembly for bringing sanity to an otherwise confused of reform initiative. While it commended certain aspects of the Bill, it however, disagreed with the proposed establishment of a single regulator in the industry. “We do not share the views of the National Assembly on creation of a behemoth regulator for a sector that is not necessarily homogenous in its activities and deliverables” they noted.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My quest for change made me team up with Buhari — Amaechi

The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, says that his pursuit for change made him to leave his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to join the All Progressives Congress (APC). Amaechi made the disclosure at the Future Awards Africa held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos last Saturday. He said that he would have done otherwise by staying in PDP and fight for the change, instead, there was a need to cross over to APC because of his belief in President Muhammadu Buhari. “I moved from PDP to APC because I am tired of what is happening in the party, I have the option to stay because of my position as the Chairman of the Governors then. “I can use my position to fight them (PDP) and get what I want because I believe Nigeria was not going in the right direction by then. “My attention and belief shifted to Buhari which was the viable alternative, I believe in the change mantra because it is the only way to improve on what is on ground. “He has not...

Man bags 14 years imprisonment for raping 13-year-old IDP

A middle aged man, Yahaya Umar was yesterday sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a Borno State High Court for raping a 13-year-old Hajja Ibrahim, an Internally Displaced Person (IDP). According to the charge read by the clerk of the court, the convict, Yahaya Umar lured the victim from Abaganaram IDPs camp in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to one Rainbow Hotel in same Maiduguri city and had forceful sexual intercourse with her. The charge reads, “That you Yahaya Umar (male), on or about 21st September 2016 at about 1900 hours at railway quarters Maiduguri , within the jurisdiction of this honourable court committed rape on one Hajja Ibrahim of IDPs camp Abaganaram primary school , in that you forcefully had sexual intercourse with her and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 283 of the penal code laws of Borno State.” In order to prove its case, the prosecution brought five witnesses to testify and some exhibits were tendered in evidence. Coun...

PDP clears Bode George, Dokpesi, others for Saturday’s National Convention

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Friday cleared all the nine national chairmanship aspirants and certified them fit, ahead of Saturday’s national elective convention. Chairman of the committee and former Governorship candidate of the party in Edo State, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, presented certificates of clearance to all aspirants at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. Aspirants for Saturday’s convention include, Prince Uche Secondus, Chief Gbenga Daniel, Mr Jimi Agbaje, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, Prof.Taoheed Adedoja, Prof Tunde Adeniran, Chief Olabode George, Dr. Raymond Dokpesi and Mr Aderemi Olusegun. Speaking while handing the aspirants their certificates, Ize-Iyamu said the list of other aspirants cleared for other offices would be displayed at the party’s secretariat.