Abba Kyari ferries bill to London for President Buhari’s assent

By Kunle Akinsola

In far away London on a private visit, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday performed his official duty of signing a bill passed by the National Assembly.

The bill, “the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract) Act (as amended), was “ferried’’ to the president in London by his Chief of Staff, Mr Abba Kyari.

In a photo posted on social media, Kyari, who donned a grey suit with stripes, had presented the bill to the President sitting on a couch.

The President had on his Twitter handle described the signing of the bill as a landmark moment for Nigeria.

Buhari thanked the lawmakers for their cooperation in making the ‘long overdue’ amendment possible.

He recalled that during his 2020 Budget presentation speech before the National Assembly in October he underscore the need to urgently review the fiscal terms for deep offshore oil fields to reflect current realities and to ensure increased government revenues.

The signing of the bill in London by President confirms speculations that he had not transferred powers to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as Acting President during the two-week vacation as previously done.