Nigerian President Declines to Sign Oil-Reform Bill, Aide Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari declined to sign an oil-industry reform bill passed by lawmakers and indicated his concerns in a letter to the legislature, a senior aide said.

“The president has declined assent in a letter he sent to the National Assembly about a month ago,” Eta Enang, the presidential adviser on legislative affairs, told reporters Wednesday in Abuja, the capital. “It doesn’t mean that the bill is completely dead,” he said, adding that consultations were going on to address the issues, which he didn’t disclose.

A bill to reform funding and regulation of oil production in the continent’s biggest producer was first sent to lawmakers in 2008 and stalled over differences with energy companies on the fiscal regime to govern offshore operations. Under Buhari’s government, which took office in 2015, the fiscal aspects were removed to pass a bill focusing on the regulatory aspects of the industry.

Source: Bloomberg Business News