Senate President Bukola Saraki at the weekend said that the federal government loses $30 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to absence of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) yearly.
He said the National Assembly will not play politics with the passage of the remaining components of the bills despite the pressure of the 2019 election politicking.
He noted that the enactment of the law will create jobs for those that have been unemployed.
He was represented by the chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Gershowl Bassey at the Oil &Gas Public Lecture Series “Abuja 2018” of the Institute of Oil and Gas Research and Hydrocarbon Studies.
The theme of the lecture was “Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Governance Law & Global Investment opening in the sector.”
Speaking on the importance of the bills, Saraki said: “This is not politics. It is about our country.
“All the parties are interested in getting this thing done because of the lack of the passage of the PIB, we are losing $30 billion Foreign Direct Investment every year.
“The effects in terms of job creation are massive so we are losing jobs.”
The Senate President insisted that it is about time for Nigerians to revolutionalise the sector for optimal service and delivery.
The chairman of Council of the Institute, Prof. Akin Akindoyemi, noted the bills have failed to address the issue of ownership in the sector.
According to him, the bill concentrates on the decentralisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and leaves out the critical issues of ownership.
He called for the privatisation of the sector to give stakes to individuals and communities.
He urged that the bills should address the issue of exploitation of communities by government and oil companies.