Nigeria's oil and gas sector contributes 10% of the national gross domestic product, with petroleum exports accounting for 86% of the total export revenue. Moreover, since 1971, the country has been a significant part of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, with Africa's most potent oil resources. In light of this, there's no doubt that the petroleum industry is one of the most competitive sectors in Nigeria.

After serving two tenures as Minister of Transport and Minister of Steels & Mines Development, Mrs Diezani Alison Madueke resumed office as the Minister of Petroleum under former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's supervision from 2010-to 2014. She is the first and only woman ever to hold this position, where she brought her expertise and vision to change the industry's narrative and boost investment.

While working in this male-dominated sector, Alison Madueke faced many criticisms and media controversies which she claims challenged her to work harder as the petroleum minister. Mrs Alison Madueke was also the chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He worked with many top officials to ensure positive long-term changes in the oil sector.

Her Administration recorded many transformative high points in Nigeria's petroleum industry. However, many critics have declared that the turning point of her tenure began with the passage of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Content Development Bill. As Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Madueke championed the enactment of this bill due to her goal to promote indigenous participation and the development of local capacities in the sector.

As a result, it brought about notable growth in the rate of Nigerian-owned exploration, production companies and indigenous entrants for the first time in the nation's history. Most significantly, the Content policy aimed to solve the problem of unemployment in the country. Mrs Alison Madueke stated in an interview with Forbes Africa,

"The act has ensured that well over 300,000 jobs have been created because of the trickle-down effect it has had on the economy but more than that, it has brought into play a whole host of new players, across society, into the downstream service sector of the oil and gas industry – from the supply, fabrication of parts for the downstream service sector, fabrication of pipe mills, a massive rise in ownership of rigs and marine gold vessels for use in the oil and gas sector. It has given Nigerians first consideration in many areas of the oil and gas sector."

Meanwhile, her tenure faced multiple challenges involving the stability of oil supply, lack of a uniform price regime, and distribution of petroleum products. Still, Alison Madueke remained resolute in her efforts to develop the oil sector.

She fought hard for the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), stating that it supports a more transparent oil and gas industry which would, in turn, attract more investment. However, despite her efforts, the bill was not passed until November 2021. After that, however, Diezani Alison Madueke initiated the Gas Masterplan, which rigorously sought after Nigeria's move from gas to power and gas to industry, ensuring value for the gas to export.

Furthermore, she targeted a series of initiatives formulated to revolutionize the Petroleum Industry to ensure an internationally competitive oil and gas sector.

Moreso, Alison Madueke cared about implementing substantial reforms to discourage oil fraud and other challenges in her Administration. Under Diezani's leadership, the Petroleum Ministry had to deal with the scourge of illegal refineries, crude oil theft, and the problem of almost 5,000 kilometres of vandalized pipelines, but she stayed steadfast.

She reduced the rate of bunkering from 200,000 to around 60,000 barrels per day during her three years as Minister. Also, the former Minister worked with the President to discourage the license grants and leases without proper due process declaring that it would "leave the door open to political favouritism and corruption.

The Former Minister also contributed more efforts to boost the Gas potential of the country through the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation (DGSO). She established the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation (DGSO) Allocation Model and assigned obligations to the participating Gas Producers. In addition, Mrs Alison Madueke also looked after the Generated Gas Resource Sourcing Data by enforcing a Swapping Mechanism for the effective delivery of Gas to consumers with minimal pipeline infrastructure.

On a final note, it's been almost 8 years since Diezani Alison Madueke resumed office as the Petroleum Minister. Still, she will always be remembered for bringing the Nigerian oil sector into the global limelight. She boldly represented the country at the OPEC conferences. She was eventually elected as the first and only female President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2015.