OpeOluwani Akintayo
22 August 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Federal Government has been urged to set a definite timeline for the commencement of the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, PIGB, once President Muhammadu Buhari signs it into law.
A panel of energy experts expressed fears that unless the PIGB was protected with a timeline, passing it into law in an election year, 2019, could lead to unnecessary delays in its implementation, especially if the current administration fails to get re-elected to execute the law.
The panellists, who spoke at the annual conference of the the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria in Lagos, noted that Nigerians had, over the years, not benefited much from the oil and gas industry due to lack of accountability and transparency.
But, they assured that with the coming of the PIGB, which separates the regulatory and commercial functions from the existing Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC; Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR; and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the country would gain more from the industry.
For instance, they said, the PIGB would end the regime of political interferences and abuses of previous years in the NNPC, just as they expressed the optimism that the new law would assist unlock dormant potential in the petroleum industry to deliver improved dividend to Nigerians.
The panellists comprised the President, Petroleum Club, Dr. Godswill Ihetu; Team Leader of FOSTER, Mr. Henry Adigun; and a lawyer, Dr. Adeoye Adefulu. The three urged Nigerians to embrace the PIGB as it’s implementation would give the petroleum industry strong commercial and regulatory institutions that were currently absent, and which absence had been stifling efforts to attract sufficient private sector investments.
Ihetu, in his contribution, lauded the National Assembly for the timely delivery of PIGB for assent by President Buhari, but, noted how the 7th National Assembly (2011-2015) had thought they had worked out a successful PIB Act for the country only for the 8th Assembly to jettison it and the process restarted with an attendant loss of billions of dollars to the industry.
“Nigerians have to persuade the Federal Government to act on the PIGB as we are going into an election year. There must be an acceleration for the assent by President Buhari so that we don’t lose more money,” he said.
On his part, Adefulu acknowledged that the PIGB was coming at a time that there was more dissipation of energy on the 2019 election and that this could pose a problem for its implementation.
“We have to stay optimistic because this is the first time that the PIB has gotten to the president. Nigerians have to put the pressure to ensure that President Buhari signs it into law,” he stated.
“And to prevent any further delay if the current government doesn’t return in 2019, there must be a commencement date inserted to say irrespective of who is the President of Nigeria, the bill must start running on such a date,” he added.
Adefulu also faulted the previous laws governing operations in the oil and gas industry, saying they they created “so much room for abuses by giving unrestrained powers to the Minister of Petroleum Resources to grant oil prospecting licences to investors without provisions for checks and balances even by the DPR”.
In his contribution, Mr. Adigun decried the continuous payment of subsidies by the Federal Government for fuel and expressed happiness that that the PIGB had made provisions for the abolition of fuel subsidies, which, according to him, has been starving the government of funds to develop other critical sectors like transport, health and education.