….Calls for reversal of provisions
Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has warned that no fewer than 4,000 of its members may loose their jobs in the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC, as a direct consequence of the newly signed Executive Order,EO, by President Bola Tinubu.
It called for the reversal of the Order,which mandates the direct remittance of oil and gas revenues to the federation account.
PENGASSAN warned that the provisions of the EO may also undermine the gains of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) enacted in 2021 and erode investor confidence in the sector.
President Tinubu issued an Executive Order on Tuesday to ostensibly, safeguard and enhance oil and gas revenues for the Federation,curb wasteful spending and eliminate duplicative structures in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
According to a statement signed by the Special Advisor to the President (Information and Strategy),Bayo Onanuga,the directive seeks to restore Constitutional revenue entitlements of the federal,state and local governments,which were removed in 2021,by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Addressing the media in Lagos,the President of PENGASSAN, Comrade Festus Osifo noted that certain provisions of the Order and calculations were wrong and could create more instability in the oil sector.
“We understand the President has the constitutional right to issue Executive Orders.However,in this case we believe he was misled.
“This is a President who has traveled across the world to attract investments…If he had been exposed to the whole truth regarding this EO,he would have acted otherwise.
“An Executive Order can not supercede the laws of the land,it cannot override the statutory provisions or invalidate existing laws enacted by the National Assembly,” Osifo posited.
He expressed worry that the Order,which has been officially gazetted,states that NNPC Limited will no longer collect and manage the 30 percent Frontier Exploration Fund.
Furthermore, the EO, Osifo also noted,will ensure that the 30 per cent profit from production sharing,profit sharing and risk service contracts currently earmarked for the frontier exploration fund,is henceforth transferred to the federation account.
He warned that the Order has set a wrong precedent and is bound to create uncertainty in the mind of investors who would begin to nurse the feeling that government could wake one day, and hike royalties and taxes, which will ultimately cut their Return on Investment, RoI.
SOURCE: Champion Newspapers
