Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed into law a bill designed to overhaul the oil industry and provide unrestricted free-market pricing of petroleum products.
The signing by Buhari, who has just returned from a foreign trip and is in mandatory isolation, was historic since the bill had been in the works for over a decade.
Nigeria’s bicameral legislature passed the bill mid-July, ahead of the presidential assent.
“The ceremonial part of the new legislation will be done on Wednesday, after the days of mandatory isolation would have been fulfilled,” Femi Adesina, the president’s media advisor, said in a statement.
According to Adesina, the Petroleum Industry Act provides a legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.
Nigeria is one of the largest exporters of oil in Africa. The new law essentially allows an improvement in the country’s oil and gas production. Enditem
