Forces In, Outside Nigeria Frustrating PIB — Lawan

.Says Investors Threatened Leaving Over PSCs Amendment
.Vows National Assembly Will Tackle PIB This Year

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has revealed how people in and outside the country had tried to frustrate the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Lawan, who did not disclose the identity of these people trying to frustrate the passage, equated the bill to a demon that had defied every effort to get it passed in the past 20 years.

Addressing newsmen shortly after receiving a birthday card from the Senate Press Corps, his staff and the National Assembly Commission, Lawan, who turned 62 on Tuesday, also revealed how some people begged for the deep shore production sharing contracts (PSCs) not to be amended.

He added that the people actually threatened to leave the country if the amendment was carried out.

On the production sharing formula, Lawan said, “When we were supposed to get two billion dollars every year in the past 20 years, we were getting $216 million, but since the amendment we have been getting two billion dollars.”

Lawan also disclosed that the economic recession in the country would be over in the 2nd quarter of 2021 with the extension of the capital implementation component of the 2020 budget.

He applauded “the patriotic zeal, sheer determination, and unity of purpose by all serving senators across party lines” and their determination to do the latest by the end of the first quarter of this year.

He said efforts would be deployed on the bill immediately the Senate resumes on January 26 the way it did with the Deep Offshore Oil Production Sharing Contracts.

Going forward, he disclosed that the Deep Offshore Oil Production Sharing Contracts Act facilitated by the National Assembly in 2019 had increased remittances from the sharing contracts into the Federation Account from $216 million to $2 billion on a yearly basis.

He said: “For 20 years, foreign forces and local collaborators, frustrated efforts to amend the Deep Offshore Oil Production Contract Act, but got defeated in October 2019 with the passage of the Amendment to the Act by both chambers of the 9th National Assembly with attendant financial and economic gains for the country.

“Those against the move in 2019 even threatened to leave the country, but the 9th National Assembly stood its ground in getting the previously fraudulent Act amended with the passage of the bill which was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari on a Sunday in London.”

He, however, assured the various international oil companies (IOCs) working in Nigeria that the PIB to be passed this year would not run them out of business.

“The main purpose of the PIB, which will later become an Act, when passed and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, is to make the oil sector investment-friendly for both local and foreign investors with attendant economic gains for the country.

“Through it, the required competitive environment will be provided for businesses to grow and investors will make their gains as well as Nigerians getting value for their monies and government getting more revenues,” he explained.

He added that with massive injection of budget funds into the economy, Nigeria will get out of recession in a few months’ time.

According to him, to achieve that while implementation of the N13.588 trillion 2021 budget commences this January, the capital component of the 2020 budget is extended to March 31, this year, as requested by the executive.

“This will, no doubt, ensure injection of massive funds into the economy and get it out of recession soonest,” he said.

He also declared that the reversion of the budget implementation cycle in Nigeria from the unpredictable ones of the past to January- December now, by both the legislature and the executive, has increased the percentage of implementation and invariably delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

“In 2020, for example, the government achieved 97% budget implementation performance, which is the highest since 1999,” he said.

Speaking on the need for concerted efforts at nation building, he called on leaders to apply themselves fully to addressing the various challenges facing the country as, according to him, “there should be no excuse for leaders to fail their people”.