A bill seeking amendment to the 1999 Constitution to grant control of natural resources— oil fields, minerals and natural gas — to states, on Wednesday, passed second reading in the House of Representatives.

The proposed legislation was sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and three other lawmakers, aiming to grant states greater autonomy over the exploration, management and revenue generation of natural assets.

The bill specifically seeks to transfer control and exploration of these resources from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent Legislative List in the Constitution.

This development came years after a similar bill got stalled at the second reading on the ground that decentralization could result in disparities among states.

The current bill was referred to the committee on the constitution amendment and should return to the third reading if approved.

The bill, if eventually becomes a law, might grant the states the opportunity to regulate resource extraction, issue mining and oil exploration licences and collect revenues independently.

Several other bills passed through second reading at both chambers as part of the broader moves by the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution which had been in place for almost three decades.