President Muhammadu Buhari Monday signed the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 into law.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement he issued in Abuja.
“Working from home in five days’ quarantine as required by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 after returning from London on Friday, August 13, the President assented to the Bill, Monday, August 16, in his determination to fulfill his constitutional duty,” Adesina said.
“The ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled.”
The PIB spent about 20 years at the National Assembly, passed through versions before it was passed by the Senate on July 15, 2021, followed by the House of Representatives where it was passed a day later.
The passage of the bill by the National Assembly sparked reactions from the host communities in the Niger Delta, who faulted the low funding provided for in the bill for the development of the areas.
The criticism was directed at the three percent, from five percent originally introduced into the bill, provided for the Host Community Development Fund.
