…youth leader commends Sylva for speedy passage
Abuja—Both chambers of the National Assembly on Thursday passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law.
At the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the House Adhoc Committee on the PIB, Mohammed Tahir Mongunu, stated that “the House do consider the Report of the Ahoc Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill on an Act to Provide Legal, Governance, Regulatory and Fiscal Framework for the Nigerlan Petroleum Industry, the Development of Host Communities; and for Related Matters, 2021 (HB. 1061) and approve the Recommendations therein,” The Nation reports.
At the Nigerian Senate, the PIB was passed after the clause by clause consideration of the report of its joint committee on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas).
Despite protests from the South-South lawmakers, who advocated for 5%, 3% was finally approved for the host communities.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, appreciated lawmakers for achieving the feat, pointing out that, “The demons (of PIB) have been defeated in this Chamber. We have passed the bill.”
Commending the passage of the bill by the national assembly, a Niger Delta youth leader, Robert Desmond, has commended the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, for facilitating the speedy passage of the bill which had lingered for several years.
In a chat with Mangrovepen.ng, Desmond said that, “Chief Timipre Sylva has demonstrated his deep love for the Niger Delta people, by working hard to ensure that this all important bill is passed.
“Only a passionate leader who is committed to his duties could surmount all odds to achieve such a great feat that had seemed insurmountable for over a decade.”
Desmond, who is also a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), thanked Sylva for being a good ambassador of the Niger Delta by performing creditably well as minister.
He added that Sylva has “written his name in the annals of history as a sterling leader with excellent achievements that will be difficult to match.”
