Journalists at a workshop on the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, on Tuesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill into law, to end uncertainly in the sector.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the workshop organised by Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER).
The journalists contended that the signing into law of the bill would end the regime of uncertainty in the industry and open Nigeria to the flow of investment capital.
The communiqué signed by National Secretary, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Shuaibu Leman, also called for policy reforms in the Nigerian petroleum industry to ensure transparency and accountability, so as to reposition it for global competitiveness.
They resolved to push for the passage of the three remaining components of the Petroleum Industry Reform Bill which include the Petroleum Industry Administration Bill, Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill and Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Bill.
The journalists said they would help to highlight the gains of the bills to the nation and engage all stakeholders to ensure their passage.
“Going forward, we will endeavour to place policy reforms in the oil and gas sector in the front burner and use our different platforms to pressure the key actors in the legislative process to expedite action on the outstanding petroleum industry bills.”
They pledged that the NUJ would partner FOSTER in the quest to ensure the actualization of the right set of frameworks needed to turn the Nigerian petroleum industry into an engine of wealth creation.