Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, signed the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 into law, shrugging off protestations from major stakeholders, especially in the Niger Delta region, from where the crude oil is drilled.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.
“Working from home in five days quarantine as required by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 after returning from London on Friday, August 13, the President assented to the Bill on Monday, August 16, in his determination to fulfil his constitutional duty.
“The ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled,” Adesina stated.
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 country’s 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 the wake of the century, and notching another high for the Buhari administration.
However, when the final draft of the bill hit the public domain, major stakeholders complained that the original bill had been doctored to give undue advantage to some parts of the country, especially the northern region.
