SENATE President Bukola Saraki is worried over the  huge capital flight in the oil and gas sector. Saraki said the Senate was determined to halt the huge sum of $380 billion the country had lost in the last 50 years in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

The senate president who expressed regret over the quantum of resources lost to capital flight, assured that the present Senate would focus on reforms that would address the challenges.

He spoke at the opening of the three-day Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Research and Development Fair and Conference 2017, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, in Lagos.

He noted that the 8th National Assembly was not unmindful of some of the challenges plaguing the industry.

He was represented by Tayo Alasoadura, chairman, Senate Committee on Upstream, who revealed that the Senate was working on a number of legislative reforms aimed at reviving the economy.

According to him, the current National Assembly has introduced an inclusive broad stakeholder engagement form of lawmaking.

Senator Alasoadura pointed out that through the pioneer creation of the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable, private sector groups and the civil society were participating in the lawmaking process by providing and engaging with relevant committees on technical support.

He said the revitalisation of the Nigerian economy had been the central theme of the Senate’s legislative agenda.

According to him, the Senate had created its legislative agenda with focus on reviving the Nigerian economy and mapping out economic priority bills, designed to create jobs and promote MSMEs growth.

This would also shift attention to the process of creating an enabling business environment in Nigeria, infrastructure mobilisation, and access to capital and credit.

“In line with this agenda, we have passed the Electronic Transaction Bill 2015, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill 2015, the Credit Reporting Bill, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Bill, the Independent Warehouse Regulatory Agency Bill, the Secure Transactions in Movable Assets Bill, to name but a few of them.

“These Bills create new capital mobilisation scheme for SMEs, encourage access to credit, and reduce the potential for non-performing loans:, he said.

He argued that Nigeria’s economic growth could only be sustainable if Nigerians reduce their import dependency.

He stressed the need for Nigerians to turn to Made-in-Nigeria products.

“We have also considered and created practical ways by which the government can show full support for Made-in-Nigeria goods,” he said, and adding, “This is precisely what we have done with the amendment of the Public Procurement Act; it makes Made-in-Nigeria products the first option of purchase in any government transaction in Nigeria.”

He lauded the executive on the robust Economic Growth and Recovery Plan and remarked that to ensure a sustainable vibrant economy, our business environment legal frameworks must be safe, friendly and provide an assuring platform for investors, entrepreneurs and businesses.

He also revealed that the vision of the Senate, going forward, was to create a robust business environment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

To achieve this, adequate attention will be paid to passing the remaining aspects of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, he said. – Independent

– Sept 26, 2017 @ 14:17 GMT /