PIB to be presented to Senate, Reps next week – Saraki

ABUJA—THE Petroleum Industry Bill,PIB, would be re-presented in the National Assembly next week for subsequent consideration. Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who disclosed this,yesterday, in Abuja,while declaring open the ongoing National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable, said already, the current  8th National Assembly, after consideration of the harmonized version of the bill , has slated next week to lay it in both chambers. He added that the Senate and House of Representatives had resolved to do a joint work on the Bill. The development is coming after many years of non passage of the bill by both chambers of the National Assembly. Saraki said:  “The National Assembly, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives, is working very closely together. ‘’As part of this commitment, we would all see next week when we lay down the Petroleum Industry Bill; you will see that the bill we are going to lay in each House is the same. “We are going to lay the same version in the Senate and the House of Representatives because that is going to be the first time we are open to our words,”he said. The new version of the PIB, according to sources, is being sponsored by the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly. Saraki lamented the harsh economic environment in the country, pointing out that most of the laws regulating the business environment were obsolete. While contributing to discussions at the event, head of Economic Growth, DFID, Nigeria, Simon Kenny, declared that a major economic problem facing the country was its over-reliance on the already dwindling oil revenue. According to him, the fall in oil price provided a good opportunity to diversify its economy resources. Kenny said:  “ If you look at the demands of oil produced in Nigeria and the low price of oil, and if you divide that by the vast numbers of people and population of Nigeria, there is only around $200 of oil per capital per year in the country. ‘’There is no way even the rising price of oil can raise Nigeria to anything above a middle income country.  And I know that the aspirations of Nigeria have gone beyond that to become a high level income country.”