The newly assented Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is a commitment of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the restructuring of the Nigerian economy through the democratic process.
The governors elected on the party’s platform under the aegies of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) made this disclosure in a statement released on Wednesday.
The statement signed by the Forum’s chairman and Kebbi State governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said that even critics of the ruling party and the governments cannot ignore the fact that the coming into law of the PIA is an important democratic milestone.
According to the statement, “the new PIA present a convincing credential of the commitment of our party, APC, to restructure the Nigerian economy through the democratic process in line with provisions of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended.
“Inspired by our leader, President Buhari, we are confident that democratic engagements based on strategic considerations of legislative proposals in the National Assembly to make or review existing laws, the Nigerian economy will be fully restructured.
“Even critics of our party, APC, and our governments cannot ignore the fact that the coming into law of the Petroleum Industry Act is an important democratic milestone. It signposts the commitment of our party and our government to develop the oil and gas sector and resolve all the challenges associated with the operations of the sector.
“With the new Act, there should be remarkable improvement in revenue collection from the oil and gas sector. This is expectedly the Next Level governance initiatives our party has promised Nigerians during the 2019 campaigns.”
Reacting further, the APC Governors wrote: “The PGF congratulates Mr President for achieving this important milestone. We pledge our commitment to support the process of transition to the new era of oil and gas operational and management as provided by the new Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
“We remain committed to a democratic process of negotiating the reform of our Republic to make it more responsive to the needs of Nigerians. Similarly, we are indeed more confident that the ongoing process of Constitutional Amendment in the National Assembly, will produce more reforms of the structures of the Nigerian economy.
“Accordingly, the PGF would continue to collaborate with the National Assembly and the federal government to mobilise public understanding to accelerate the process of change in the country. Through our engagements with the leadership of the National Assembly, we would also continue to provide all the needed support to enhance the already existing synergy between both the executive and legislative arms of government.
“We will continue to draw lessons from President Buhari’s leadership and take all the necessary steps to replicate it in our respective states.”
SOURCE: oglinks.new