Even years after her appointment and tenure as the Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria, Diezani-Alison Madueke's legacy is still recognized. She came into the limelight for her vision to reform the petroleum sector under the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration from 2010-to 2015. Diezani-Alison Madueke was a charismatic, determined leader who helped to ensure the progress of the Nigerian oil sector.

Born and raised in Port Harcourt Rivers, Diezani K. Alison Madueke spent her early childhood and education in Delta, Nigeria, before moving to the US for her university education. She obtained a degree in Architecture from Howard University and returned to work in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. At Shell, Alison Madueke rose to the highest positions and became the first female Executive Director in 2006.

Following her respectable career at Shell, she gained national attention with her appointment as the Minister of Transport by the Umaru Musa Yar'adua administration in 2007. She was also Minister of Mines and Steel Development from 2008 - to 2010 while former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was acting President.

Considering her expertise and experience in the oil and gas sector, Diezani Alison Madueke became the first-ever female Minister of Petroleum Resources. As Minister, she went hard on her efforts to reform the then poorly managed and utilized crude oil sector. However, there was a lot of controversy concerning her appointment because she was a woman working in a male-dominated industry.

However, the former Minister stood up to the challenge and remained a hard nut to crack. During the GEJ administration, oil accounted for 80% of Nigeria's revenue, and most of these gains were often siphoned into the pockets of corrupt leaders. But, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke's demands for transformation and reform got a lot of feedback from many political elites.
Alison Madueke’s Role in the National Content Development Bill
As Petroleum Minister, Alison-Madueke oversaw the revamping and rehabilitation of critical depots oin order to restore petroleum product supply in Nigeria. In addition, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke championed the passing of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Bill in her efforts to encourage local businesses.

President Goodluck Jonathan signed the bill into law in 2010, impacting indigenous engagement and the development of local capacities and thereby transforming the face of Nigeria's oil sector at the time. This will ensure that a significant portion of the estimated $20 billion annual industry spending stays in Nigeria, benefiting Nigerians and indigenous Nigerian businesses and service providers.

The Nigerian Content Development Board, NCDMB, which the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources chairs, achieved the following under the watchful eye of the President and the Honourable Minister:

Ensured that Exxon Mobil's historical usage of made-in-Nigeria pipelines at its Top – Idoho Offshore field was expanded.

Assured the placement of over 100 kilometers of pipeline orders at SCC Abuja, Nigeria's only pipe manufacturer.

Ensured that in-country fabrication tonnage increased from 1,000,000 in 2009 to 1,200,000 today.

In addition, the Content Development bill aided the development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Employment and Training Strategy, which resulted in the absorption of over 5000 engineers, geologists, welders, and other skill sets into the industry and served as the foundation for a national talent database.

This resulted in a surplus of 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. Under Alison Madueke's tenure, the Nigerian Content Development Board(NCDMB), approved the Nigerian Content Development Fund, which will be used to invest in oil and gas infrastructure and provide a partial guarantee to service providers and manufacturers.

It also designed the Indigenous Marine Vessel and Offshore Assets Acquisition Strategy to promote genuine Nigerian-owned marine vessels and offshore rigs/equipment in all O&G operations to boost Nigerian participation, empower communities, and maximize Nigerian crew.

It developed an Original Equipment and Local Component Manufacturing Strategy to encourage Nigerian-made materials in the oil and gas industry and ensure the creation of equipment manufacturing units that will employ thousands of Nigerians.
Petroleum Industry Bill
Apart from the Content Development bill, Alison Madueke also maintained interaction with the National Assembly to ensure the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). She claimed that this oil reform legislation would benefit Nigeria in the long run and give a fair Return on Investment.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke added that the PIB offers a flexible fiscal regime that will improve government revenues while also encouraging investment in the petroleum sector, stressing that it allows for a production-based incentive structure that will accommodate all in the long run industry players.

The PIB aims to implement a new tax and royalty regime to boost the government's revenue and disperse more rewards to regular Nigerians. It also seeks to simplify a famously complex legal structure and explain the fiscal terms under which a foreign operator might acquire concessions from and collaborate with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

It includes measures for giving domestic enterprises a larger piece of the production pie. It also aspires to boost the NNPC's credibility by transforming it into a commercially viable, profit-driven business with greater autonomy from the government. However, despite all her efforts, Diezani-Alison Madueke faced major opposition in the Senate, and the bill was eventually postponed.

However, this did not stop her from further actions to revolutionize the petroleum industry. She openly supported the discontinuation of the fuel subsidy, reasoning that "it poses a huge financial burden on the government, disproportionately benefits the wealthy, [and] encourages inefficiency, corruption, and diversion of scarce public resources away from investment in critical infrastructure."

Due to her knowledge and expertise, she often advised the former President on strategies to help restructure the oil and gas industry. For example, she made a major impact by advising the President against granting licenses and leases because it could result in political favoritism and corruption.

Under Diezani's leadership, the Petroleum Ministry dealt with the epidemic of illegal refineries, crude oil theft, and almost 5,000 kilometers of vandalized pipelines. But she remained resolute despite the false reports fueled by many corrupt stakeholders in the oil industry that the law targeted.

Additionally, Alison-Madueke launched the Gas Masterplan, which was meticulously implemented to ensure that Nigeria moved from gas to power and from gas to industry and that our gas was valued for export. This led to a major boom in oil prices and further progress in the oil sector.

Furthermore, To maximize Nigeria's gas potential, the former Minister of Petroleum Resources enacted the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation, DGSO, by developing the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation DGSO Allocation Model and assigning obligations to the various Gas Producers.
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She was in charge of the Generated Gas Resource Sourcing Data and the establishment of a Swapping Mechanism for the efficient transportation of gas to consumers with minimal pipeline infrastructure.

On a final note, Diezani-Alison Madueke has proven herself as a committed leader and revolutionary in Nigeria. Beyond her role as Minister of Petroleum Resources, she was appointed the first female OPEC President in 2015. She made unprecedented changes to the oil and gas sector, eventually making the country internationally relevant in global oil discussions, and setting a good example for future leaders.