Gas
LEGISREPORTS NG – On Tuesday, the Lagos State House of Assembly passed a bill for a law to establish Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation to invest and engage in oil and gas activities in the state and for connected purposes and sent same to Governor Babatunde Fashola for his assent.

When signed by the Governor, the state will launch itself into the nation’s oil and gas sector, in what will see it invest in all downstream and upstream activities, such as exploration, drilling and the production of oil and gas.

The name IBILE, LEGISREPORTS gathered is an acronym of the five (5) Divisions in the state, that Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Epe. Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation would be expected liaise with federal agencies and private companies to deliver petroleum products to Lagos, in the most efficient manner.

As it was gathered, the development is also the way Lagos is seeking to position herself to play big in the nation’s oil and gas sector and tap from the benefits therein. The corporation will also be saddled with the responsibility of investing and engaging in all midstream and downstream oil and gas activities, including all gas processing businesses, petroleum products retailing, gas retailing, gas pipelines deployment, and acquisition of petroleum products tank farms and other distribution facilities.

It will also be vested with the powers to purchase, or otherwise acquire or take over all, or any of the shares, assets, businesses, properties, privileges, contracts, rights, obligations and liabilities of any other company, firm or person, in furtherance of any business engaged in by the corporation.

It is believed that when it becomes fully operational, Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation would trigger-off healthy competition among the states of the federation, and perhaps prompt the Federal Government to consider a more efficient management of the sector, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the nation’s earnings.

According to section 2 of the bill, “the Corporation shall have powers to engage in all oil and gas upstream activities, including exploration, drilling and production; invest in a company or a consortium for the purpose of participating in oil and gas bid rounds and seeking marginal fields’ allocation.

Other powers of the corporation include acquiring old or new exploration and drilling prospects and prospecting abandoned wells anywhere in Nigeria and Overseas.

“Liaise with the Federal Government agencies or private and multinational companies to deliver petroleum products to the state in the most effective and cost efficient manner; invest in refinery, petrochemical processing or other production processes and do all such things necessary to facilitate the discharge of its responsibilities.”

Section 3 of the bill, which talks about the establishment and composition of the Governing Board of the Corporation, states that: “There is established for the corporation a Governing Board to be known as Ibile Oil and Gas Corporation Governing Board.

The Board according to Section 3 (2) shall comprise of the Chairman; four (4) members from the Public or Private Sector; the Managing Director; and the Permanent Secretary or a representative in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources not below Grade Level 15 to be nominated by the Commissioner.

The members of the Board except the ex-officio members shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to the confirmation of the House, while the appointment of the Chairman and four (4) members of the Board shall be from the five Divisions of the state.

Section 14 of the bill empowers the Managing Director of the Corporation to execute the policies of the corporation as approved by the board from time to time; manage and control staff, administration and business of the corporation; establish and develop a management structure with appropriate departments and units; advise the board in relation to the performance of the functions of the corporation and shall make proposal to the board on any matter relating to the activities of the corporation.

The corporation according to Section 22 of the bill, may with the approval of the House of Assembly borrow from time to time such sum of money for and in connection with exercise of its powers under the law as the Board may deem fit.

Observers believe that with the establishment of this corporation, Lagos has again attain another feat towards the Mega City status.http://legisreportsng.com/special-report-as-lagos-sets-to-venture-into-oil-and-gas/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

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That is very good, i hope other SW states can emulate this.
The only thing i am concern about this is that government is a bad manager, normally NNPC should be operating at the level of Chevron, BP, Shell, petrobraz, Sinopec etc but as we all knw they could not manage it to operate @ the level. To day Fashola who can manage it is here as governor, who knows who will be there after him maybe someone like oyinlola or akala who will loot and mismanage it.
My advice to them is that Lagos should make it joint venture with private organisation and Lagosian should also buy shares in it just like Nigerian flour mill, Nigerian brewries etc.