Senate Postpones PIB Meeting

The Senate has shifted a scheduled public
meeting with 36 state governors on the
provisions of the new Petroleum Industry Bill
(PIB) for tomorrow's electronic voting on the
recommendations of the already debated
Senate Constitution Review Report,
LEADERSHIP reports.
Senate had mandated four standing
Committees namely: Petroleum Resources
(Upstream and Downstream), Gas and
Judiciary and Human Rights to work on the
new PIB by meeting with the public and other
stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
The Joint Committee had initially fixed July 16
-17 to meet with the state governors, minister of
petroleum resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-
Madueke, coordinating minister of the
economy and finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister,
Senator Bala Mohammed and the attorney
general of the federation and justice minister,
Mohammed Adoke.
"The joint committee public meeting with the
state governors and other stakeholders will now
hold on Thursday and Friday, rather than the
Tuesday-Wednesday we had earlier scheduled,"
the Joint Committee chairman, Senator
Emmanuel Paulker disclosed to newsmen
yesterday.
Other invitees include the group managing
director of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), executive secretary of the
Petroleum Technology Development Fund
(PTDF) and the executive secretary of the
Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring
Board.
All managing directors of International Oil
Companies (IOCs) as well as managing
directors of indigenous oil companies,
including NUPENG and PENGASSAN as well
as oil-producing communities were also invited,
LEADERSHIP learnt.
Paulker explained, "On the scale of urgent
matters of national importance, the
constitution of the Federal Republic takes
precedence.
"As you were all aware, Senate was unable to
vote last Thursday because we had to intervene
in the Rivers State House of Assembly fracas of
last Tuesday. The whole of Wednesday plenary
was devoted to that."
Paulker, who is also the chairman of the
Petroleum Resources (Upstream) noted that
Senate also decided on the shift because
Wednesday plenary has also been dedicated as
a valedictory session for one of its departed
colleague, late Senator Pius Ewherido from
Delta Central.
"The joint committee decided this time
around, to involve all stakeholders in the oil
sector so that at the end of the day when the
new law is passed, nobody would complain they
were left out," Paulker stated.