President Muhammadu Buhari presides over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on August 18, 2021.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a committee to immediately commence the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act in 12 months.

The committee is headed by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva.

President Buhari gave the approval on Wednesday while giving a remark on the Act which he assented to two days ago.

He spoke during a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly led by the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The President hinted that relevant ministries, departments, agencies have been tasked to work with Sylva towards the successful completion of the implementation process.

He decried that the lack of political will has hampered the growth of the industry, adding that the country has lost about $50 billion in the last 10 years.

However, President Buhari is hopeful that the new Act will coordinate the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and reposition it for further progress.

Following the meeting with the lawmakers, the President went on to preside over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

More to follow…