Unions in the oil and gas sector have described the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) as a welcome development, saying it will increase inflow of foreign investment.
The unions are the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).
It will be recalled that the Senate on Thursday passed the PIGB after about 17 years of considering the Petroleum Industry Bill, (PIB).
The General Secretary of NUPENG, Joseph Ogbebor,said on Friday in Lagos that the passage of the bill was long overdue.
Ogbebor said that it was a welcome development for the oil and gas sector as the union had been campaigning for the passage of the bill for over 15 years.
He said that the bill, if finally passed into law by the president would attract more foreign investors and boost accountability and transparency.
On the unbundling of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the NUPENG scribe said that the union would resist any attempt to sack workers without adequate settlement.
He advised the Federal Government to be cautious on industrial relation issues and ensure that all labour matters were properly addressed.
Acting General-Secretary, PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, also said the development was a step forward to addressing the issues in the oil and gas sector.
Okugbawa said that the bill was part of the entire PIB, adding that it was necessary to pass it to create a law to regulate activities in the industry.