Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi representing Niger North Senatorial District has disclosed the reason why the PIB has not been taken beyond the first reading in the Senate.
He declared that the Senate resolved that its treatment be suspended following controversies arising from host communities funds component of the bill.
He, however, refused to state where opposition against that aspect of the bill came from. He said: “The Senate is already primed because most experts have submitted that we need to do something about the PIB. “The Senate decided in our own wisdom, that rather than take the whole hog of PIB, it is better to turn in to about one or two components; we wanted to take the management framework but because of the sensitivity of the host community relationship and benefit sharing issue, that issue met some brickwall even before it went ahead.
“So, we thought it wise to keep it down. But I’m convinced beyond reasonable doubt that by the time we come back from recess, that issue will still get a front burner attention because it’s key to whatever changes we want to see done, going forward on a sustainable basis in the oil and gas industry.”
