The House of Representatives, at the plenary on Tuesday, passed the Petroleum Industry Bill for second reading.
The bill is to provide for legal, governance, a regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigeria Petroleum Industry, development of host communities and for related matter.
Members of the House debated the bill for over one hour, led by the Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa.
He said that if the PIB was passed into law, it would open up the sector, create jobs for the youths, women, and men in the country.
The Minority Leader of the house, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta) said that the passage of the PIB was long overdue.
He said that the bill should be passed as soon as possible as the essence was to remove the uncertainty in the existing legal framework.
While all the lawmakers who spoke expressed their support for the bill, some of them called for its speedy passage due to the expected impact on the petroleum industry.
The Speaker of the House of Representative Femi Gbajabiamilia, in his ruling, referred the bill to the ad hoc committee on PIB for further legislative actions.
