After more than 15 years of legislative rigmarole, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was passed in the National Assembly last week. The 319-clause document suffered several promises of passage before being finally approved by the National Assembly. Controversy however, has broken out over the 3% of oil revenue reserved as host community fund. Oil producing communities are strongly protesting that the funds set aside fall below their demand. This controversy was further escalated with governors of the southern states of Nigeria meeting in Lagos and demanding 5% of oil revenue for host communities. There is also controversy surrounding the 30% of profits from oil and gas operations set aside for what is described as frontier basins exploration.
The PIB has been in the works for several years and could help unlock Nigeria’s oil industry which has for decades been shrouded in opaqueness and lack of transparency. Some people have applauded the law. According to the spokesman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Yakubu Suleiman, the bill will support the deregulation of the oil industry and also attract foreign investments into Nigeria. Also, President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ide Udeagbala stated that the bill will provide the historic legal framework required for the transformation of the oil sector, with a positive effect on the Nigerian economy.