Senate Strips President, Minister Of Power To Allocate Oil Blocs
The President and the Minister of Petroleum Resources may be stripped of power to allocate oil blocs.This major change, New Telegraph gathered, was part of the Petroleum Governance Bill (PIGB) undergoing legislation before the Senate.
Chairman, National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Reforms, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, confirmed the development in an exclusive chat with this newspaper on the sideline of the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.
He said that oil alloca-tion would, henceforth, be executed by the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC) subject to ratification by the National Assembly. He said that the bill would be passed “by March or latest April”.
Alasoadura added that the aspect of the petroleum law, which gives the president and the minister the absolute power to singlehandedly give oil blocs to people, has been reviewed with the PIGB.
“What we are proposing is that the board of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to be formed through Senate legislation will meet, assess and recommend people for oil blocs and other things to Mr. President through the Minister of Petroleum Resources,” the senator told New Telegraph.
Corroborating Alasoadura’s view, a member of the PIB re-drafting committee told this newspaper that the Senate had successful removed power of the president and oil minister to award oil blocs.
All the oil blocs in the country had, since independence, been allocated by the president and or Minister of Petroleum Resources as the case may be. He said: “The law that guarantees the president and/or the minister this authority is being revoked through PIB and the only reason that this will continue is if the President refuses to accent the bill.”
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Chairman, National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Reforms, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, confirmed the development in an exclusive chat with this newspaper on the sideline of the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.
He said that oil alloca-tion would, henceforth, be executed by the Nigeria Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC) subject to ratification by the National Assembly. He said that the bill would be passed “by March or latest April”.
Alasoadura added that the aspect of the petroleum law, which gives the president and the minister the absolute power to singlehandedly give oil blocs to people, has been reviewed with the PIGB.
“What we are proposing is that the board of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to be formed through Senate legislation will meet, assess and recommend people for oil blocs and other things to Mr. President through the Minister of Petroleum Resources,” the senator told New Telegraph.
Corroborating Alasoadura’s view, a member of the PIB re-drafting committee told this newspaper that the Senate had successful removed power of the president and oil minister to award oil blocs.
All the oil blocs in the country had, since independence, been allocated by the president and or Minister of Petroleum Resources as the case may be. He said: “The law that guarantees the president and/or the minister this authority is being revoked through PIB and the only reason that this will continue is if the President refuses to accent the bill.”
Go to >>>SOURCE for more details..
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