The National Economic Council (NEC) has resolved to work towards the early passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The council at the end of its monthly meeting in Abuja on Thursday directed the Minister of Petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to present a roadmap on the conclusion and finalisation of the bill to enable the president present it as a matter of urgency to the national assembly.
It also agreed to set up a committee headed by the Minister of Petroleum resources to monitor the nation’s oil exports and imports in order to establish a reliable system for accurate data generation on revenue from oil.
Briefing state house correspondents after the meeting the Akwa Ibom state governor Godswill Akpabio stated that the membership of the committee include the Accountant-General of the federation, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and some governors.
He said that the National Economic Council also agreed on strengthening the laws against oil bunkering to save the nation from the massive revenue loss in the sector which has been put at N1billion monthly.
On the new tax regime the council directed the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to work with governors and come up with a reliable structure for tax drive urging the president, the governors and their deputies to pay tax on official emoluments.
