Buhari writes Senate, seeks to amend one-month-old PIA

Barely one month after assenting to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to amend the law, which the National Assembly passed only on July 1.

The PIA is expected to grow investors’ confidence in the sector and create more employment opportunities for residents in host communities.

The President’s fresh request was contained in a letter dated September 16, and read during plenary, Tuesday, by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

Buhari, in the letter, explained that the appointment of two non-executive members as provided for by the Act to the board of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA) and Upstream Regulatory Commission (URC) does not reflect balanced geopolitical representation.

He, therefore, requested amendment to Sections 11(2)(b) and 34(2)(b), which provides for the Administrative Structure of the PIA, to increase the number of the non-executive members from two to six on the boards of the NPRA and URC.

According to him, doing so would foster national unity and “provide a sense of participation and inclusion to almost every section of the country in the decision making of strategic institutions such as the oil industry.”

In addition, the President proposed a deletion of Sections 11(2)(f), 11(2)(g), 34(2)(f) and 34(2)(g) from the Petroleum Industry Act, which would see to the removal of the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance from the Board of the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Upstream Regulatory Commission.

He explained that, “the two ministries already have constitutional responsibilities of either supervision or inter-governmental relations. They can continue to perform such roles without being in the board.”

He also sought an amendment to Sections 11(3) and 34(3) to be replaced with a new section that provides that appointments to the Board of the Commission or Authority under Section 2 shall be made by the President, while those made pursuant to subsection (2)(a), (b) and (c) of section shall be subject to confirmation by the Senate.

The President, in his proposed amendment, underscored the need to exempt serving public officers from the established confirmation process for political appointments.

Buhari further requested the Senate to confirm the nominations of members of the Board of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The nominees for confirmation included: Idaere Gogo Ogan (Chairman); Engr. Sarki Auwalu (Chief Executive); Abiodun A. Adeniji (Executive Director, Finance and Accounts); and Ogbugo Ukoha (Executive Director, Distributions Systems, Storage and Retail Infrastructure).

In a separate letter, President Buhari while relying on the provision of Section 11(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, requested the Senate to confirm the appointment of four nominees to the Board of the Upstream Regulatory Commission.

The nominees for confirmation included: Isa Ibrahim Modibo (Chairman); Engr. Gbenga Komolafe (Chief Executive); Hassan Gambo (Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts); and Ms Rose Ndong (Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management).

According to the President, both requests for the confirmation of the board’s membership were made “in order to fast track the process for the establishment of the Commission.”