The House of Representatives has urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to demonstrate the impact of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), five years after its enactment through increased crude oil production, improved investment and greater economic benefits for Nigerians.
The lawmakers said the success of the legislation should be measured not only by institutional restructuring and corporate reforms but also by improved domestic refining capacity, increased government revenue, job creation and affordable energy.
Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, made the call at a retreat on PIA implementation, corporate governance and legislative oversight organised by NNPC Ltd in collaboration with the Office of the Speaker in Abuja.
Abbas, who was represented by the House Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, said the fifth anniversary of the legislation offered an opportunity to evaluate how far its provisions had translated into concrete improvements in the petroleum industry.
“Ultimately, the success of the PIA must be measured beyond institutional restructuring and corporate performance indicators. It must be reflected in increased production, greater investment, improved energy security, stronger domestic refining, enhanced revenue generation, employment opportunities and tangible benefits for Nigerians,” he said.
He noted that the enactment of the law was only the beginning of the reform process, stressing that its effectiveness depended on proper implementation, transparency and institutional accountability.
The Speaker assured that the National Assembly would sustain its oversight responsibilities to ensure that NNPC Ltd fulfilled its statutory obligations and managed the nation’s petroleum resources in the public interest.
However, he warned that legislative oversight should not be used to interfere with the company’s daily operations, saying parliamentary scrutiny must strengthen corporate governance without undermining commercial efficiency.
“Effective oversight should promote better governance, not undermine operational efficiency,” he said.
Abbas identified crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, production constraints, inadequate infrastructure, investment uncertainty and regulatory bottlenecks as some of the major obstacles confronting the industry.
He also stressed the need to maximise domestic refining capacity and ensure adequate crude oil supply to local refineries without compromising the commercial viability of upstream operations.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of 3 Streams Synergy Limited, Doyin Adelabu, said the retreat was organised to assess NNPC Ltd’s transformation under the PIA and strengthen engagement between the legislature and industry stakeholders.
She said the discussions would examine corporate governance, accountability, legislative oversight and institutional cooperation, urging participants to develop practical recommendations capable of delivering the intended benefits of the legislation.
In a presentation on the impact of PIA reforms and corporate governance on NNPC Ltd, an energy governance expert, Dr Nuhu Habib, warned that weak board independence, disputes over revenue remittances and excessive government interference could undermine the corporate governance reforms introduced by the legislation.
Habib, Chief Executive Officer of Avante Consultants and Advisors Limited, acknowledged improvements in the company’s corporate structure and financial reporting but said implementation remained uneven, particularly in shareholder oversight, revenue transparency and institutional stability.
He identified executive influence over board appointments, the company’s dual role as a commercial operator and concessionaire, an unclear shareholder mandate and unresolved fiscal disagreements as major structural challenges.
The expert also expressed concern that proposed amendments to the PIA could concentrate strategic control in the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), potentially weakening the authority of NNPC Ltd’s board and reversing the commercial independence envisaged by the 2021 legislation.
Under the proposed amendments, MOFI would become the sole nominal shareholder and assume responsibility for determining the company’s strategy, objectives and targets, while the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) would replace NNPC Ltd in existing contracts as concessionaire.
While acknowledging that the proposals could improve revenue collection, reduce leakages and address conflicts of interest, Habib warned that excessive centralisation could weaken investor confidence and blur the boundaries between ownership, regulation and commercial operations.
“Moving control between ministries does not by itself create accountability. Published mandates, fixed tenures and arm’s-length contracting do,” he said.
He called for greater transparency in revenue remittances, protection of board tenure and a clear separation of regulatory and commercial responsibilities.
Habib further identified the unresolved relationship between the Fiscal Responsibility Act and executive directives affecting the company as a source of recurring remittance disputes and outstanding audit queries.
SOURCE: dailytrust.com
