Nigeria’s inability to attract fresh investment in the oil and gas sector or expand existing ones has left the country in a precarious situation. So far, there are strong medications that the loss for Nigeria has also become the gain of other countries, including, Ghana, Gabon and Angola, which have become new frontiers for oil exploration in Africa.
The PIGB, alongside Petroleum Industry Administration Bill, Petroleum Industry Fiscal and Petroleum Bill and Petroleum Industry Host Community Bill , is an offshoot of the omnibus Petroleum Industry Bill which is awaiting presidential assent. Today, investors, especially those operating in the nation’s upstream segment have found new haven in other countries. The investment loss for the country is occasioned by the lack of clear cut policy direction for the oil and gas industry as policies, including fiscals and legal regulatory framework, are not clear enough and in some cases shrouded in secrecy.
Industry experts and operators at a symposium on the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) organised by the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in Abuja last week, believe that despite developments in the global oil industry, the responsibility for giving direction to the Nigerian oil and gas sector rests on the government. Its actions or in actions will ultimately determine how well the industry fares.
Sanyaolu.A (2018). PIGB: Economy bleeds as waiting game for presidential assent continues. Sun, [online]. Available at: http:// http://sunnewsonline.com/pigb-economy-bleeds-as-waiting-game-for-presidential-assent-continues/ [Accessed 26 March. 2018].
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