The National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, on Tuesday, commended the Senate over the passage of the Deep Offshore inland basin Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
Oshiomhole gave the commendation when he led members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) on a visit to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan.
PSC is a contractual arrangement for petroleum exploration and production.
While commending the senate on the manner in which it had been handling national issues, Oshiomhole noted that perhaps the most outstanding was the way the upper legislative chamber passed into law the amendment to the PSC.
“The PSC promises to increase the revenue of Nigeria substantially.
“We know that there have been attempts to amend this law but the lobby groups, as represented by the International Oil Companies (IOCs), have appeared to be so strong that they have overwhelmed the National Assembly over the years.
“And I think it is in your credit, the Senate President, that you resisted all those temptations.
“And even on this issue, we also want to extend the same compliment to the PDP members in the National Assembly because we didn’t hear a discordant voice on this, including YPP.
“Where you have a clear senate leadership that has the capacity to engage across party divide, issues are properly articulated that people can see that what is at stake is not partisan interest but national interest; it is possible to find common ground to carry everybody along,” he said.
Oshiomhole further said that passing the law under five months was a laudable statement about what Nigerians were to expect and what the leadership of the Senate was already doing in the interest of the nation.
“I was also excited to see Mr President signing into law that Act in London. Again, a couple of implications on this.
“That you recognised that if you could manage it as quickly as you did and come out with such fundamental amendment that has such enormous impact on our national revenue, he, as President, also has to do the needful,” the APC chairman said.
In his remarks, Lawan said that the resolve of the senate was to give to Nigerians policies that would have direct bearing on them.
“This senate works for Nigeria indeed. And this is just the beginning of what we intend to achieve.
“We expect that we pass the budget at the end of this year, but next year going forward, we have other very compelling and important and significant legislations, that is, the Petroleum Industry bill.
“We have a lot of revenue issues; we intend to look into legislations on the revenue generating agencies and the scope of their mandates.
“We passed the amendments to this Deep Offshore and inland basin Production Sharing Contract.
“It may interest you to know that Nigeria received $268 million only before this amendment.
“After the amendment, when the bill starts to operate, at $55 to a barrel, Nigeria will receive about $1.5 billion and if it goes up to $60 per barrel, it will be close to $2 billion.
“That is a monumental quantum leap indeed,” the senate president said. (NAN)
