From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the Bitumen Development Commission, marking a significant legislative step towards harnessing the country’s vast bitumen resources.
The bill, sponsored by Jimoh Ibrahim, aims to create a dedicated regulatory body that will oversee the exploration, exploitation, and management of Nigeria’s estimated 42 billion tonnes of bitumen reserves—the second largest deposit in the world, after Canada.
Its passage followed the presentation and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, which conducted a review of the bill. The report was presented by Diket Plang, a member of the committee.
According to Plang, the committee held a well-attended public hearing where stakeholders from across the mining and energy sectors unanimously supported the bill. He said the establishment of the Bitumen Development Commission was widely endorsed as a critical step towards diversifying the economy, reducing dependency on crude oil, and enhancing infrastructure development through the domestic production of bitumen for road construction.
“Stakeholders agreed that the commission is long overdue, considering the strategic importance of bitumen in national development and the fact that Nigeria continues to import bitumen despite having one of the largest reserves globally,” Plang told his colleagues.
He further noted that the commission, once established, would help coordinate investment in bitumen development, standardise production processes, ensure environmental safety, and attract foreign and local investors to the sector.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended Ibrahim for sponsoring the bill and lauded the Committee on Solid Minerals Development for its diligence. Akpabio described the bill as a “development-driven initiative” that aligns with the federal government’s efforts to unlock the potential of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
“This is a landmark development,” Akpabio said. “We must begin to look beyond oil, and this Commission will create the framework for Nigeria to finally tap into its bitumen wealth and grow our economy in a sustainable way.”
The bill will now be transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence before it proceeds to the President for assent.
If signed into law, the Bitumen Development Commission will serve as the apex regulatory body for bitumen development and is expected to operate under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.