Senate ends debate on PIB abruptly

The senate has ended debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) abruptly.

Omotayo Alasoadura, senator from Ondo central, had taken the lead debate on the bill when the exercise was halted.

As Alasoadura, who chairs the senate committee on petroleum resources, outlined the features of the bill, lawmakers murmured that they had not received copies of the document.

Senate President Bukola Saraki expressed surprise that the document had not been circulated, but said he was sure that copies of the bill had already been distributed to lawmakers last Thursday.

He suggested that the bill be stood down until members get the document.

The bill was, thereafter, stood down to the next legislative day.

Earlier, Godswill Akpabio, senate minority leader, raised an objection to the exercise, saying the bill was not to be glossed over, hence the need for members to get copies of the document before a debate on it.

Making his own contribution, Kabir Marafa, a senator from Zamfara central, said that he noticed that essential parts of the document were separated instead of being presented as a whole.

Having perceived the feelings of the senate, Saraki suspended debate on the bill, which was the first order of the day, until the next legislative day.

While leading the debate, Alasoadura said the PIB was first introduced in 2008, but that it wasn’t passed in previous administrations of the national assembly.

He said that the objective of the bill was to create efficient institutions, and to promote transparency in the administration of petroleum resources in the country.