The Nigerian Senate has passed the Petroleum Industry Bill also known as PIB.

The bill was passed during plenary on Thursday after careful consideration of each of the clauses.

The Senate approved three percent (3%) for the host communities despite protests from the South-South lawmakers, who canvased 5 percent (5%).

The Senate had before then, held a closed session with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari.

The passage of the bill comes exactly 13 years after it was first presented to the National Assembly in 2008.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan congratulated the lawmakers and said the Ninth National Assembly has achieved one of its fundamental legislative agenda.

“The demons (of PIB) have been defeated in this chamber. We have passed the bill,”  he said.

The bill seeks to introduce changes to the governance, administrative, regulatory, and fiscal framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, in order to ensure transparency, strengthen the governing institutions, and attract investment capital, among other objectives.

Lawan said the Senate expects President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill as soon as it was transmitted.