By Aaron Ossai
The House of Representatives has challenged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to translate the reforms introduced by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 into higher crude oil production, increased investment, improved energy security and tangible economic benefits for Nigerians.
The House said the success of the five-year-old legislation should be measured not merely by institutional restructuring and improved corporate performance but by its impact on domestic refining, government revenue, employment generation and access to affordable energy.
The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, made the call at a retreat on PIA implementation, corporate governance and legislative oversight, organised by NNPCL 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 much of its promises had translated into measurable progress 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.
The Speaker maintained that the enactment of the PIA was only the beginning of the reform process, stressing that effective implementation, transparency and institutional accountability were essential to achieving its objectives.
He assured that the National Assembly would sustain its oversight responsibilities to ensure that NNPCL discharged its statutory obligations and managed the nation’s petroleum resources in the public interest.
However, Abbas warned against turning legislative oversight into interference in the company’s daily operations, arguing that parliamentary scrutiny should strengthen corporate governance without undermining commercial efficiency.
“Effective oversight should promote better governance, not undermine operational efficiency,” he said.
He identified crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, production constraints, inadequate infrastructure, investment uncertainty and regulatory bottlenecks as major obstacles that must be addressed to unlock the potential of the petroleum sector.
Abbas also called for the optimisation of domestic refining capacity and adequate crude oil supply to local refineries, while ensuring that upstream operations remained commercially viable.
In her welcome remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of 3 Streams Synergy Limited, Doyin Adelabu, said the retreat was organised to evaluate NNPCL’s transformation under the PIA and strengthen cooperation between the legislature and industry stakeholders.
She said the discussions would examine corporate governance, accountability, legislative oversight and institutional collaboration, urging participants to come up with practical recommendations capable of ensuring that Nigerians benefited from the petroleum reforms.
In a presentation titled, “Impact of PIA Reforms and Corporate Governance on NNPC Ltd Corporate Governance and Accountability,” an energy governance expert, Dr Nuhu Habib, warned that weak board independence, persistent revenue remittance disputes and excessive government interference could undermine the corporate governance framework established by the legislation.
Habib, Chief Executive Officer of Avante Consultants and Advisors Limited, acknowledged improvements in NNPCL’s corporate structure and financial reporting but said the implementation of the reforms 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 weaknesses.
The expert further cautioned that proposed amendments to the PIA could concentrate strategic control in the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), weakening the authority of NNPCL’s board and reversing the commercial independence envisaged by the 2021 legislation.
Under the proposed amendments, MOFI would become the sole nominal shareholder, with responsibility for determining the company’s strategy, objectives and targets, while the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) would replace NNPCL in existing contracts as concessionaire.
Although the proposals could strengthen government revenue collection, minimise leakages and address conflicts of interest, Habib warned that excessive centralisation of authority could undermine investor confidence and blur the distinction 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 also identified the unresolved relationship between the Fiscal Responsibility Act and executive directives affecting the company as a major source of recurring remittance disputes and outstanding audit queries.
To address the shortcomings, he recommended monthly reconciliation of NNPCL’s remittances with the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), publication of annual statements showing dividends due and paid, disclosure of subsidiary accounts and prompt responses to audit queries.
Similarly, in a presentation titled, “Strengthening Legislative Oversight and Collaboration Under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021,” a Professor of Governance and Development, Ernest Ereke, urged the National Assembly and NNPCL to embrace collaborative governance rather than adversarial relations.
Ereke cautioned lawmakers against deploying their oversight powers to frustrate the company’s commercial operations or using them for political witch-hunts, power struggles and extortion of corporate entities.
He argued that legislative oversight should strengthen transparency, accountability and corporate governance rather than weaken NNPCL’s capacity to operate as a commercially viable national oil company.
The professor also urged the company’s management to stop interpreting legitimate legislative inquiries as institutional attacks or unnecessary interference, describing parliamentary scrutiny as an important safeguard for corporate accountability and public confidence.
He advocated a constructive relationship between lawmakers and NNPCL’s management, anchored on regular information exchange, mutual institutional respect and early identification of regulatory and operational challenges.
According to him, although the two institutions have different responsibilities, their objectives converge on the need to establish an efficient, transparent and accountable petroleum industry capable of driving national economic development.
Ereke stressed that the success of the PIA would depend not simply on the existence of the legislation but on the ability of relevant institutions to translate its provisions into concrete results.
The discussions at the retreat highlighted the need for stronger institutional accountability, commercial independence, transparent revenue management, effective legislative oversight and sustained cooperation among stakeholders to ensure that the PIA fulfils its promise of transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
