By Mbafan Ade (BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT) –
Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, has commenced implementation of the newly signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by approving a steering committee to oversee the process.
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, who made this known in Abuja today, said the steering committee would be headed by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
Other members the committee are: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Group Managing Director (NNPC), Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Representative of the Ministry of Justice, Representative of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Natural Resources, Barrister Olufemi Lijadu as External Legal Adviser, while the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), will serve as Head of the Coordinating Secretariat and the Implementation Working Group.
According to Adesina, “the primary responsibility of the steering committee shall be to guide the effective and timely implementation of the PIA in the course of transition to the petroleum industry envisaged in the reform program, and ensure that the new institutions created have the full capability to deliver on their mandate under the new legislation.”
“The committee has 12 months duration for the assignment, and periodic updates will be given to Mr President,” he added in a statement.
The bill was signed by President Buhari on Monday while working from home in line with COVID-19 protocol. He went into a five- day quarantine as required by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 after returning from London on Aug. 13.
The Petroleum Industry Act provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.
The Nigeria Senate had passed the Bill on July 15, 2021, while the House of Representatives did same on July 16, thus ending a long wait since early 2000s, and notching another high for the Buhari administration.