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Senate Warns Kachikwu Against Unmerited Claims

The Senate has warned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to stop making false claims in the on-going process of passing … Continue reading Senate Warns Kachikwu Against Unmerited Claims


Senate Approves Electronic Voting For ElectionsThe Senate has warned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to stop making false claims in the on-going process of passing into law the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

In a statement by its spokesman, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, the Senate said the first part of the PIB which has gotten to the final stage and is scheduled to be passed before the second anniversary of the 8th Senate is a private member bill and did not emanate from the executive.

Senator Abdullahi also described as false, a statement allegedly made by the Minister that there is a disagreement between the Senate and House of Representatives over the PIB which has delayed its passage and he has been speaking with the House to take the version of the bill being worked on by the Senate.

He stated that it is not unusual for there to be differences in the contents of a bill on the same issue being worked on by the two chambers of the National Assembly.

However, there is already an inbuilt legislative process for reconciling the two versions of a bill through a harmonisation process by the Conference Committee of both chambers.

Senator Abdullahi further stated that the Senate had decided that after the passage of Budget 2017, the next major assignment is to pass the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill and immediately fast-track the process of passage of the Host Community Bill and the Fiscal Regime Bills which are also related to the reforms of the petroleum sector.