The Senate has mandated its Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Downstream and Gas to conduct a holistic investigation on the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) with regards to potential exit of International Oil Companies (IOCs) from Nigeria.
This followed a motion brought before it by the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, Senator Aniekan Bassey, entitled, “Urgent Need for Enquiry into Implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 with Regards to Potential Exit of International Oil Companies (IOCS) from Nigeria: Case of ExxonMobil in Akwa Ibom State” during plenary on Thursday.
In a statement by Senator Bassey’s media unit on Friday, Bassey, while praying the Senate to get involved in addressing the situation, expressed worry over the impending adverse effects of the exit of ExxonMobil from Akwa Ibom State.
He enumerated the effects to include: high loss of jobs, exit of professionals and service companies from Akwa Ibom,…