Jonathan to re-present PIB to N/Assembly

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is to re-present an improved version of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which consideration has earlier been stalled in the National Assembly.This was one of the outcomes of Thursday's meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), which has now directed the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Deziani Allison-Maduekwe, to present a road map on the conclusion and finalisation of the bill to the relevant organs of the executive for final consideration.Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, along with the Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, said the road map would enable the president to re-present it as a matter of urgency to the legislature.He said NEC advised state governments to come up with tough laws to combat the menace of oil bunkering, oil theft and vandalism, which, he said, led to the loss of estimated $1billion a month in money that should have accrued to the Federation Account.The advice followed a presentation made to the council by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on oil subsidy financing after which the council noted the need to establish a reliable system for the tracking the nation's oil exports and imports.
Click here to read full news..