19 March 2014, Abuja – Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has stated that the current negative public perception of Nigeria’s oil and industry represents an opportunity for increased transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the sector.
Speaking Tuesday at this year’s Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference in Abuja, the minister also insisted on the deregulation of the downstream sector and the establishment of a critical oil and gas infrastructure protection squad with the responsibility for dealing with crude and product thefts, vandalism, outright sabotage and general criminality in the sector.
She said the oil and gas industry in Nigeria had always been at the centre stage of public discourse, adding that this is expected, given the fact that oil is the mainstay of the country’s economy in terms of export and foreign exchange earnings.
– Ejiofor Alike and Chineme Okafor, This Day