As the ad-hoc committee on Petroleum Industry Bill begins their assignment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,? Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has warned members of the committee to resist inducement attempts by interest groups.
The speaker was apparently referring to the bribery scandal that rocked the investigation carried out by ad-hoc committee on Fuel Subsidy where the former chairman,? Farouk Lawan was accused of accepting cash from business mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, in exchange for a favourable report.
Cautioning the members of the committee during the inauguration of the panel yesterday, Tambuwal said the members must avoid anything that would make them lose their integrity as temptations from varied interests would surely come.
He said, “I should also caution that with the demanding nature of the task before you and high stake, interest and expectations lies the glittering, but slippery line of integrity test. When you encounter it do not take a second look, do not slow down, do not stop but rather flee because it is outside the scope of your mandate. May the Almighty God grant you the wisdom and strength to come out of this assignment with greater honour and integrity than you now possess”.
Describing the committee’s assignment as critical, sensitive and demanding, the speaker stressed that the PIB was the most important piece of legislation that the parliament would enact to move the oil industry from its present state to a higher level where it would be pivotal to revolutionising the nation’s economy.
Reminding them that their mandate as a committee was to produce a legislation that could tackle the multi-faceted hiccups facing the Nigerian oil industry and stand the test of time, he said, “let me remind all the members of this committee that the assignment before you is critical, sensitive and demanding.
It will not be an overstatement to say that the biggest activity in the country’s oil sector now is the wait for the Petroleum Industry Act. It means then that you must do a good job”.
