Presidency to send PIB to National Assembly in weeks – Sylva

Adebayo Obajemu

The Presidency is set to send Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, to the National Assembly in a couple of weeks, says the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva.

He made this statement in Abuja, saying that the executive was on the process of concluding the PIB and would be sending the bill to the national assembly within the next couple of weeks.

He noted that the PIB was central to the Federal Government’s quest to reform the petroleum industry and to address fiscal issues that would help bring down the cost of production.

Sylva further stated that the Federal Government was already engaging with members of the national assembly and other critical stakeholders to ensure speedy passage of the bill immediately it is submitted by the executive.

“We are presently reaching the end of the PIB. It would be sent to the National Assembly in the next couple of weeks. We are waiting for the PIB to be passed so that we can move in our quest to cut production cost,” the minister said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, added that the PIB would make the NNPC commercially viable, profit-driven and help it in reducing its cost of production.

“We are not waiting for the PIB; every step we are taking today is to ensure that we are commercially viable, cut down on our cost to make us profitable among others.

“Today, we do 80 per cent to 90 per cent of our business through automation. This company is changing for the better and it will remain an entity that all Nigerians will be proud of.”