By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Federal Government has extended the implementation timeline of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by 18 months.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva stated this during a media briefing in Abuja.
The minister said the extension had become inevitable in view of the suspension of the removal of fuel subsidy earlier scheduled to end in June.
He said the 18-month PIA extension request would be sent to the National Assembly for approval.
Sylva said the PIA implementation which ought to commence in February would now be shifted to 18 months to give room for further amendments.
He explained that for the president not to breach the law as contained in the PIA, which had approved the deregulation of the downstream sector, there was a need to seek the approval of the National Assembly.