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By Bimbola Oyesola, [email protected]
Barely a week to the handing over ceremony to the new government, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged President Muhammad Buhari to sign the Energy Commission of Nigeria Amendment Bill, 2022 before leaving the office on May 29th 2023.
The union said the President must assent his signature to the bill as a matter of urgency, as it is important to the development of the downstream sector and the nation in general.
President, of the union, Festus Osifo and his General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, in a statement noted that the appeal is a sequel to what the union perceived to be the negligence of the Bill which was transmitted to the Office of the President since the twenty-eight November, 2022.
The union reminded President Buhari of the critical role of the Energy Commission of Nigeria in nation building.
It added that the commission is expected to meet up with the energy demands of the country in critical areas especially by sustaining energy development in the country.
PENGASSAN blamed the inability of the Energy Commission of Nigeria to perform its mandated duties on bureaucratic breakdowns with the various stakeholders and internal shortcomings, lamenting that “the situation has been costly to the Nigeria’s energy sector.”
The union stated that the provisions of the current Act of the Energy Commission are no longer in tandem with the present realities in the energy sector, hence the request for the Amendment of the Energy Commission of Nigeria Bill, 2022.
The Association while urging President Buhari to assent to the Amended Bill, maintained that this is the right time to strengthen the Energy Commission of Nigeria which has the mandate of producing strategic plans for the government in the energy sector in all ramifications.
“Assenting to the Energy Bill in addition to the Petroleum Industry Act already signed into law by President Buhari will go a long way in repositioning the entire energy sector as well as nation’s economy,” the union emphasised.
