TheCable

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has described the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as a historic development.

Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, executive secretary of NEITI, disclosed this on Monday, in Abuja, in a statement signed by Obiageli Onuorah, Head Communication and Advocacy.

Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the much-anticipated PIB.

Orji said the new law ended decades of uncertainty concerning the future of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

“The new law has opened a new phase of wider opportunities in the oil and gas industry. For us in NEITI, President Muhammadu Buhari has broken new grounds, created new business horizon built on healthy legal frameworks with realistic optimism for inflow of investments, revenue growth and job opportunities,” he said.

Orji further expressed optimism that the Petroleum Industry Law will provide the dynamic legal governance framework required to re-position Nigeria’s petroleum industry to fully embrace competition, openness, accountability and professionalism.

According to him, the law will bring better returns on investments to both companies and the government.

“I want to also use this opportunity to call on companies, government agencies and civil societies involved in the oil and gas sector governance to give this law a chance to succeed.

“NEITI will study the contents of the new law and work with national and global partners, especially EITI to use the law to open the Nigeria oil and gas sector for transparency, accountability and inflow of foreign direct investments into Nigeria.

“NEITI is hopeful that the huge revenue losses which Nigeria has witnessed over these years as a result of process lapses and weaknesses in previous laws will be checked, while restoring investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector,” he said.