The House of Representatives on Monday called for greater accountability in the management of Nigeria’s petroleum resources, urging that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) deliver measurable gains five years after its enactment. The call was made at the opening of a three‑day retreat on PIA implementation, organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in collaboration with the Office of the Speaker in Abuja.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, represented at the event by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere, said the success of the PIA should be judged not by the creation of new institutions or the restructuring of the national oil company, but by its ability to generate higher oil production, increased government revenue, improved energy security, job creation and tangible benefits for Nigerians. He described the legislation as “one of the country’s most consequential economic legislations, designed to establish a transparent, commercially viable, accountable and investment‑friendly petroleum industry.”
“Five years down the line, the central question is how much of that promise we have translated into practice,” Abbas said.
Abbas identified a series of persistent challenges that must be addressed urgently, including crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, production constraints, infrastructure deficiencies, investment uncertainty and regulatory bottlenecks. He stressed that protecting petroleum infrastructure is not merely an industry issue but “an economic and national security imperative.”
The Speaker also called for adequate crude supplies to domestic refineries without undermining the commercial viability of upstream operations, noting the need to strengthen Nigeria’s refining capacity and improve energy security. Regarding natural gas, he said unlocking the country’s vast resources requires sustained investment in infrastructure, appropriate commercial arrangements and regulatory certainty.
Emphasising that NNPC Ltd’s commercial autonomy must be matched with transparency and accountability, Abbas said the legislature will continue its oversight through committee engagements, investigations and stakeholder consultations. He cited recent activities of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) in Port Harcourt and Lagos, as well as a two‑day retreat in April 2024 that examined PIA and tax reforms.
While warning against assuming every implementation gap necessitates fresh legislation, Abbas noted that “where existing provisions are adequate but poorly implemented, our priority should be enforcement and institutional compliance.” He concluded that the ultimate test of the PIA will be its contribution to increased oil production, investment, government revenue, domestic refining, employment opportunities and improved living conditions for Nigerians, especially host‑community residents.
“The Act sets out to turn NNPC into a commercially driven, transparent and accountable company, and to give the industry a governance framework that attracts investment and serves the Nigeria,” said Doyin Adelabu, CEO of 3 Streams Synergy Ltd.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
