The passage of Nigerias Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has been delayed after President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign it in its current form this week
According to a statement from the executive, the president, who is also the country's oil minister, sent the Petroleum Industry Governance section of the PIB back to the National Assembly. Reuters reported that this is because of multiple issues, including the section's clause to reduce the power of the president and oil minister to oversee and award oil licences and contracts. The section of the bill has provisions for a regulatory body to take 10 per cent of oil revenues, rather than these revenues gong to federal, state and local governments. Ita Enang, an official of the presidency, said that the increased remit of an oil fund could lead to conflicts in interpretation and a lack of clarity.
Both houses of the Nigerian parliament passed the bill in January this year but presidential assent is still required for the PIB to become law.
The contentious governance section would create four new entities with powers to award exploration licences, run bid rounds and make recommendations on upstream licences, a sector of the Nigerian oil industry which attracts ongoing calls for more development and investment. This section was only passed by both houses after it was broken down into smaller sections.
Oil remains crucial to the Nigerian economy. On the last International Monetary Fund (IMF) visit to the country two months ago, Amine Mati, IMF's senior resident representative and mission chief for Nigeria said: "Higher oil prices and short-term portfolio inflows have provided relief from external and fiscal pressures, but the recovery remains challenging ... Real GDP expanded by two per cent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of last year. However, activity in the non-oil agricultural sector remains weak as lower purchasing power weighs on consumer demand and as credit risk continues to limit bank lending."