The Nigerian Senate passed a bill for third reading on Wednesday, which aims to establish the Bitumen Development Commission.
The bill’s passage followed the Senate’s consideration and adoption of reports from the Committee on Solid Minerals Development.
Senator Diket Plang, a member of the committee from APC Plateau Central, presented a report recommending the establishment of a Bitumen Development Commission, as proposed by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim from APC Ondo South.
Senator Plang informed the Senate that the committee had held public hearings on the bill, garnering widespread support from key stakeholders nationwide for the creation of a regulatory body to oversee the exploitation, exploration, and production of Nigeria’s 42 billion tonnes of bitumen, the second-largest deposits globally.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, expressed gratitude to the bill’s sponsor and the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development for their initiative-driven development.
