THE Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) generated fresh controversy in the House of Representatives yesterday as lawmakers raised issues of its benefits to all sections of the country.
The lawmakers also raised fresh questions about the 2011 Appropriation Bill at a closed door session.
Meanwhile, the Chamber earlier adopted the conference Report on a Bill for an Act to provide a framework for the regulation, development and management of a National Health System and set standard for rendering health services in the federation.
Also, after about seven years in the federal legislature, the National Health System Bill was passed by the Senate but the president of the upper lawmaking body, Senator David Mark, said the chamber did not pass it because of the protest by market women in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The market women led by Mrs Felicia Sani embarked on a protest to the National Assembly, urging the legislature to pass the bill without further delay, failing which they would relocate there.
On the floor of the Senate yesterday, the harmonised version forwarded by the conference of it and the House of Representatives was passed.
And determined to halt the ongoing artificially induced scarcity and hike in the price of House Hold Kerosene (HHK) noticeable in most part of the country, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, yesterday issued marching orders to the managements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to sanitize the situation as soon as possible. Speaking during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, she noted though the country operates a free market economy, the Federal Government cannot watch and fold its arms while innocent Nigerians go through hardship in accessing the vital cooking fuel due to the profiteering activities of some ‘’middlemen’’.
``Checks at the NNPC and its subsidiary, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC indicate that we have enough in terms of product sufficiency. Our investigation shows that kerosene has however become scarce and selling at high price due to distribution problems caused by middlemen who have made it their vocation to profiteer from the product,’’ Alison-Madueke stated.
As a way out, the minister charged the NNPC and the DPR to bring to an end the ugly situation within the next few days.
Under the arrangement, the NNPC through its subsidiary PPMC will ensure that products are loaded out from the three refineries and the coastal jetties to all the nooks and crannies of the country while DPR has the mandate to activate compliance measures and all necessary control strategies to squelch the incidents of arbitrary pricing and sharp practices.
Already, the corporation has swung into action by increasing the volume of HHK allocation from 10 million litres to record 12 million litres per day to guarantee that the country is wet with kerosene. The 12 million figure is in excess of the national consumption level of about 10 million litres per day.
Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Austen Oniwon, stated during the forum that apart from increasing the daily volume of kerosene, the NNPC in concert with the PPMC has put in place a special Monitoring Committee on kerosene distribution.
Throwing more light on the operation of the task force, Prince Haruna Momoh, Managing Director of the PPMC stated that members of the committee traverse the length and breadth of the nation tracking the movement of kerosene from the refineries and coastal depots - the point of discharge through the tank farms.
Also, Alison-Madueke clarified issues relating to the reported revocation of oil leases renewal granted ExxonMobil in 2009. The minister noted that review of the process revealed that the renewal was not properly executed and was therefore not in compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Act of 1969.
The Act empowers the Minister of Petroleum Resources to cancel leases that are not properly executed.
However, she noted that in view of the harmonious relationship with ExxonMobil over the years and the substantial investments the company has made in Nigeria, “Government has taken the decision to invite Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to express interest in the grant of fresh leases.
The ministry under the watch of Mrs Alison-Madueke has recorded great strides in the last 12 months in such areas as the Nigerian Content Act, push for the passage of the PIB, the implementation of the Gas Master Plan, improved relations with critical stakeholders, improved products supply, attraction of new investors to generate employment opportunities for Nigerians, improvement in the domestic usage of LPG, renewal of oil exploration activities in the Chad Basin and commitment to transparency in the industry among others.
The closed-door session which lasted for four hours prevented the House from exhausting most of its legislative schedules for yesterday.
A lawmaker who spoke on conditions of anonymity disclosed that the issues were about some figures added to the Budget Bill illegally which is now causing a problem for the Bill.
According to the source, over N200 billion was inserted into the Budget Bill after the two Houses had harmonised it.
“What we discovered was that the Budget has been tampered with illegally. The President, we hear has returned the Bill but the leadership is not making it public and official. Some secret meetings are taking place in the Residence of the Speaker to resolve it. I particularly asked Bankole to respond to these issues but he was not forthcoming with categorical statements,” he said.
Reports have it that the Budget Bill was supposed to be signed into law today.
As it stands, the ceremony may not take place unless the National Assembly leadership promptly addressed the issues raised.
Concerning the PIB, most members from the Northern part of the country tried to draw attention to the fact that the Bill needed to carry all parts of the country in terms of investments in the Gas sector.
But despite spirited efforts by some members to stand it down, the House continued the Bill’s consideration.
Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang had urged the House to stand down consideration of the piece of legislation citing non conformity with standard and format among other sundry deficiencies.
“It is with heavy heart that I am raising this matter. The report we have here does not meet with the standard set by the House in preparing a report for consideration, therefore it should be returned to the committee to do the proper thing”.
But hardly had Enang finished when Chairman, Gas Resources, Igo Aguma raised an objection to the motion, urging the chamber to proceed with the consideration in view of the limited time left for the 6th Assembly.
“The House has been on this for the past four years, and there is no investment in the sector because the bill has been on a stand still”, he argued.
However, Deputy Speaker, Usman Bayero Nafada who presided over the plenary session was disposed to its consideration, and members were allowed to make imput into the document considered vital to the development of the petroleum sector in the country.
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Reps pass Health bill, raise fears over 2011 budget and Petroleum bill
Reps pass Health bill, raise fears over 2011 budget and Petroleum bill
NigerianEye
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Friday, May 20, 2011
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I would like to know the contents of this much talked about health bill! How come the contents are not public?
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