On Tuesday, the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, passed for second reading in the House of Representatives.

The bill has a long history in the National Assembly. It was first introduced in the 5th Assembly but has constantly been marred by controversies.

Leading the debate on the bill, the Leader of the House, Ado Dogwa said the bill will herald “unprecedented institutional reforms.”

He warned that crude oil will soon lose relevance, and urged the House to pass the bill as soon as possible.

Also supporting the bill, the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu noted that there is oil everywhere in Africa and urged the House to provide the needed legal framework.

“We have over 37 billion barrels of oil. In the next 20 years, if nothing is done, we will only be able to extract 18 billion barrels. If this should happen, what shall we do with the other 18.5billion barrels?

“We should be exporting to Niger not importing from Niger. If the UK is serious, it means that we are only going to be buying an electric vehicle. Last night, Joe Biden appointed John Kerry as the Tsar on Climate Change, which means he is focusing on ending oil demand.

PIB has been a critical bill that has taken our attention right from the 5th assembly. For whatever reason, this bill has not seen the light of the day.”

Following a long debate on the bill, it was unanimously adopted by the House.