By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, has expressed confidence that Nigeria’s economy will change for the better when the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is passed.
Sylva, who made the statement on Thursday at the 2021 SPE Oloibiri Lecture Series at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in Abuja, declared that, “This PIB is so robust.”
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Moses Olamide, Sylva maintained that the whole economy will boom, as there would be foreign direct investments (FDIs).
“This PIB is so robust. And it is going to take care of the communities. This PIB is so robust. And it is going to be investor friendly. This PIB is so robust. The Federal Government is going to have its fair share of it. We have seen the investors trying to select the new fiscal regime.
“This is because they have seen something that is so robust there. And we know that we are going to click the game of shop out. We are proposing that. But the final decision lies on the legislations that are working at this moment.
“Just like at the beginning of this week, there was a retreat in support of Abuja, and they’re putting some perfection into the PIB. And that is why we are very confident that everyone will be happy with it. And that is why we are confident to say that when the PIB is passed, the new opportunities that are available in it, there will be a lot of mass employment opportunities for our youths.
“And in (doing so), when everybody (will be) happy, when things are working fine, I believe the investors will be happy, too. There will be foreign direct investments (FDIs), and the whole economy will boom, and I think everybody will be happy with the economy of Nigeria in particular and Africa in general,” Sylva said.