Nigeria losing huge revenue from non-passage of PIB — PENGASSAN

Umbrella body of senior workers in the petroleum sector, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), weekend, disclosed that the country is still losing a lot of revenue as a result of the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

The association also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to organise an all-inclusive summit of stakeholders in the oil and gas industry before the unbundling and re-presentation of the PIB to the 8th Assembly for quick passage next year.

It would be recalled that the PIB was passed at the last minute by the House of Representatives in the 7th Assembly but the bill not passed by the Senate.

The National President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Francis Johnson, who disclosed this at the Fourth Triennial Delegates Conference of PENGASSAN, held at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Corporate Headquarters, Abuja, said his association would soon meet to strategise on how to ensure that the PIB was passed.

“We take cognisance of the resolve of the present administration to unbundle the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, and represent it to the 8th National Assembly in the first quarter of 2016 to enhance its quick passage.”We hope that both the executive and legislative arms of the government will work together to give priority to the passage of the Bill given its importance to the nation’s oil and gas industry,” Johnson said.