The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance and former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, has described the Petroleum Industry Bill as an urgent national matter that should be resolved quickly to boost the confidence of investors in the petroleum sector.
He has, therefore, asked the National Assembly to begin work afresh on the bill “because it was doctored when it was brought back with new inputs that were not there initially.”
According to him, the PIB has not seen the light of day from past administrations.
He said the situation had a negative impact on investment in the oil and gas sectors.
The ex-governor spoke on Friday in Abuja during the public presentation and review of a book: “Nigerian Leadership Initiative Whitepapers Volume 2: Reform of taxation.”
He blamed the slow process of the reform on the political class whose divergent views on issues have continued to heat up the polity.
He said, “Nobody is against any particular community collecting benefits. The debate is whether the oil-producing communities are entitled to benefits or not. But the question is, what kind of benefits and how?”
He said the National Assembly was working hard to have a balanced, fair and equitable PIB.
Makarfi also stated that the national tax policy, another comprehensive reform document designed to address some of the identified gaps in the tax system, had yet to be fully implemented since its approval by the National Economic Council.
He said, “Nigeria, a major investment destination in Africa, has a very limited treaty network compared to other territories competing for foreign direct investment on the continent.
Culled: Punchng