The speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has thrown his weight behind efforts by the National Assembly (NASS) to amend the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) Act of 1996.
In his opening remarks last week in Abuja at the public hearing on the bill to amend the OGFZA law, organized by the House Committee on Commerce, Dogara said he was convinced deliberations at the public hearing would lead to appropriate review and correction of any ambiguities that may exist in the OGFZA Act.
Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Pali Iriase, said such amendment would “empower the agency to focus its resources on developing and promoting tailored investment packages and incentives for oil and gas free trade zones to further promote the diversification policy of the Federal Government.”
Giving reasons why the OGFZA Act should be amended, Speaker Dogara explained that since the law was enacted in 1996, much has changed in the global marketplace that has made the law outdated and created the imperative to bring it up to date with current realities.
“We all do appreciate the fact that global investment climate has changed drastically since the days when the legislation was enacted in 1996,” the Speaker Dogara said.
“The global competition and scramble by various countries for available foreign investments has since grown much stiffer and complex also.
“The House under my leadership shall continue to be responsive to global economic trends and will endeavor to always take proactive steps together with the executive arm and its agencies to make new laws and review outdated portions of existing laws that tend to reduce Nigeria’s competitiveness as the premier investment destination in Africa.”
Dogara noted that Nigeria pioneered oil and gas free zones as a means for accelerating economic development, adding that it was a thing of pride that even developed countries such as Russia and the United States felt the need to borrow from Nigeria’s success in oil and gas free zones development.
He also noted that the free zones under OGFZA attracted more than 170 foreign companies, generating more than N162 billion in revenues for the Federal Government.
After the hearing on the OGFZA amendment bill, the public participation in lawmaking shifted to the bill for an Act to establish the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport of Nigeria.
