₦airaland Forum

To be honest, these are very thought provoking questions. Only a few have the right answers to them.

^ What about the multitudes of Nigerians working in the oil industry in locations like Saudi, Texas, Houston, North Sea, Aberdeen etc? Are they also controlling the oil in those countries? Seriously, we need to grow up and come out of our silos to realize that the world is a global village and the issues at the fore are far beyond oil.

@Alj, deregulation is the necessary foundation for any of our govt run sectors to be jump-started into full functionality. We know from experience that previous govt has failed woefully in running these sectors. Getting it into the hands of private investors and subjecting the market to open competition is the key. Just look at the telecom sector. If it worked there, it WILL work elsewhere (probably with a different set of rules). Whoever lays the foundation successfully should get the credit.

@James, local content is Obasanjo's baby not GEJ's. It only gets better by the day but OBJ deserves the credit. If GEJ can succeed with full deregulation of downstream petroleum sector and power sector, he too will get his own credit and that will launch him into my number 1 spot. Till then, I'm watching.

Stop all this nonsense about the west and our oil. The west has better things to do with their time.

Fear don catch them. Thief, ole, barawo, onyioshi (not sure I got d spelling right )!

God punish you boko rams sponsors. Judgment day is coming. GEJ don't back down.

Let's xray a part of this report closely.
[Quote]said security sources who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

No casualties have been reported so far, they said.[/Quote]

There is something wrong here. Whoever gave the reporter the information was not AUTHORIZED to do so yet they did speak but asked not to be named. These are the little loopholes in our systems that keep dragging us back.

I also feel Yar'Adua would have been a great president if not for his health. Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough for us to know. It seems the day he died was the day Nigeria died also.

I drive my own cars so my calculation is based on cost of fueling and maintenance.

Average daily cost of transport is N1,000 and monthly is N30,000. I guess I'm not an average Nigerian.

I just love this thread! OBJ's works speak for him. Some others are all about hearsay. What Buhari has in his records are: "I heard he was good" or "He flogged the hell out of the people who misbehaved" and the best of all: "Idiagbon did the work, Buhari was just a figurehead".

I will re-evaluate GEJ at the end of his tenure.

This deserves a standing ovation . . . When completed!

Good news for investors like me. Ibaka, here I come.

There won't have been bombings in the desert but there would have been bombings all over the creeks instead!

Civilian rule is slow and steady and 1 man cannot do as he pleases. It may take time, but it's more sustainable. The led also have a role to play.

On the other hand, military is fast and furious and 1 man can ruin it all. Also, the led are at the mercy of the leaders.

OBJ. I'm still assessing GEJ.

The worst thing that happened to the inhabitants of the geographical location called Nigeria was the amalgamation of north and south. The best thing that can happen to the inhabitants is to dissolve the failed "marriage". Any president who works towards the attainment of that in the shortest possible time is doing the people great service. Nigeria will never work as 1 nation for at least the next 100 years. Divided we stand, united we fall.

Is this one of the drivers behind Boko haram's recent actions? I.e. To suppress the political influence of multitudes of southerners and christians in their midst? I wonder!

As the Presidency prepares to re-present the Petroleum Industry Bill to the National Assembly after suffering a stillbirth in the sixth legislature, a resurgence of the plots that shot it down in its first advent is overt, writes  OLUWOLE JOSIAH

 

The attempt to phase out the regime of subsidy for petroleum products as announced by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency on January 1, and the resultant impasse which almost brought the nation to a halt, is the new impetus for the pursuit of the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Bill for a comprehensive legislation for the industry.

 

The PIB, as it is fondly called, is articulated to totally reorganise the nation’s petroleum sector in such a manner that will make it transparent and efficient. The bill, which is over 300 pages, makes extensive revolutionary provisions for the sector.

 

The administration of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, had proposed the bill despite initial fast-dragging by previous governments, but the bill ran into turbulent waters immediately it arrived at the legislature. The vested interests tore the chambers apart and planted the seed of suspicion everywhere. Several copies of the bill with different variations flooded the National Assembly, making it difficult for members to forge a common front on the bill.

 

The restructuring of the industry as proposed by the PIB would see the establishment of the National Petroleum Commission, which would be run by a board chaired by a federal minister. It will have the overriding responsibility of formulating policies for the administration of the industry. The bill states categorically that the commission under the Act “shall have power to coordinate the activities of the petroleum industry and exercise overall supervisory functions over petroleum operations and all the institutions of the industry.”

 

The bill also provides for the creation of some agencies out of the present Nigerian National Petroleum Commission, while it would transform into the National Oil Company.

 

As the bill provides in clause 138(1-2), “There is established by this Act the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (The National Oil Company), which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. The National Oil Company shall be incorporated as a private limited liability company by the Attorney General of the Federal Government on the instruction of the Federal Executive Council not later than three months after the effective date. Ownership of the National Oil Company shall be vested solely in the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

 

When the bill becomes effective, the company will be involved in all forms of oil exploration activities, just like any other oil company in the sector. The bill, in this wise, will create a level-playing field for all players in the industry.

 

While the Directorate of Petroleum Resources in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will be phased out as well as the Petroleum Inspectorate of the NNPC, a new agency, known as the Nigerian Petroleum Inspectorate will be created. It will have the responsibility of maintaining standards and regulating the operations of the industry. It will be industry’s police, enforcing all the policies, laws, and regulations relating to technical aspects of the industry.

 

The Petroleum Products Regulatory Authority has also been proposed by the bill as another agency that will promote the implementation of national commercial policies for the downstream petroleum industry as well as regulate commercial activities of the downstream sector.

 

Another novel creation of the bill is the establishment of the National Petroleum Assets Management Agency, which will have oversight of costing in the upstream petroleum industry so as to maximise the total revenue accruing to the government from the upstream sector.

 

Other creations of the bill include the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, not different from the PTDF still standing today and the Petroleum Producing Host Communities Fund, which will cater for the yearnings of the host communities by protecting their interest in the entire process of administering the industry.

 

However, some aspects of the bill are being contested by international oil companies. They include areas that have to do with tax regimes that tend to put more burdens on them and make them more responsible in the way they do business in Nigeria. Captured under the Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax, operators would be required to pay taxes on gas products separately as against what it is now.

 

As the National Assembly awaits the arrival of the bill for another circle of debates on its provisions, there are fears that the bill is likely going to witness a repeat of attacks by some stakeholders in the industry and threaten its survival once again.

 

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, bared his mind on the bill. He said it was expected that a revolutionary piece of legislation like the PIB should naturally attract the kind of resistance it encountered in the last legislature.

 

He said, “There is no way you will make such a revolutionary reorganisation of the oil industry in this country without going through challenges. I think it will be naïve of any Nigerian to think so. I know for a fact that there are a lot of interests: economic interests, political interests and social interests that are tied to the oil sector.

 

“In dealing with a subject like the petroleum industry bill which seeks to reshape the industry, recreate it and remake it on a commercial basis, will take out a lot of the waste and the unnecessary patronage that is currently associated with the industry, I don’t think that we can achieve that without some level of turbulence and challenges.”

 

He said one way out of the mess in the oil sector was for the National Assembly to put the interest of Nigeria first, finding a common ground and passing a law that would enable the petroleum industry to develop for the benefit of the people.

 

“I know that oil industry players would have their own interest, which they would like to see written into the law; but we are Nigerians, the resources belong to us and it is in the interest of our people that we should promote over and everything else. And we also have to remember that in promoting the interest of our people, we must make sure that those who participate in the industry can get fair returns for their investments because if they don’t get it, then even trying to get something for your own people will be useless.

 

“It is not rocket science. There are existing models in other societies that they have used and it is working and has worked very well. You can even take the case of Malaysia, we have Petronas; in Brazil, you have Petrolbraz and the Libyan Oil Company. All these are reformed oil sectors that have resulted in the national oil companies themselves becoming major economic and big time players in the industry. They are even investing in other societies outside and bringing home profits from their investments.

 

“But instead, our own NNPC is a source of debt, a source of patronage, is a source of waste; it is a source of mismanagement of the oil industry. So the PIB is supposed to take care of all that and any time you want to change something that people are benefiting from, there is bound to be challenges. You know that that is always the case, people don’t give away their benefits,” Abe said.

 

In spite of his worries over the bill, Abe noted that the National Assembly would certainly determine the final outcome of the bill, while urging that the executive should do all within its powers to get the documents to the NA so that work could start in earnest.

 

President of the Senate, David Mark, has also promised that the bill would be given due attention once it comes before the Senate, noting that “the problem with the PIB was that when it showed up, there were so many versions. As many as three or four versions were in the hands of senators and members of the House of Representatives.”

 

He however said, “If we are to build the sector, we have to get the bill off the ground and this is why it is necessary for cooperation between the legislative and the executive.”

 

His assurances on the bill are captured thus, “We in the present Senate are looking towards expeditious passage of the bill to ensure greater benefits to all stakeholders in good time.” The unassailable fact is that the National Assembly again can become the graveyard of this all important bill, unless some patriotic zeal is manifested by its leadership to push it through, the vested interests notwithstanding.”

 http://www.punchng.com/politics/pib-dealing-with-conflicts-interests-at-nassembly/

OP, you have made a very important observation. We need to have the correct data about our country for us to even understand our problems. It ties in to everything; security, health, elections, education, allocation of resources / projects etc. Take the recent subsidy removal issue for instance. We cannot as a nation quantify the amount of PMS consumed daily. It's all linked to the same issue.

Musiwa aka becomerich has always been mentioning the use of satellite imagery for population estimation. He is very right. There are ways by which we can harness satellite data using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for data collection. We can study population density, migration patterns, growth rate, etc using this system.

We have a very long way to go.

@ Ezeagu, harvest his organs?
Terrorism is a transmitable disease. Instead, let him be burnt to ashes after all valuable info is extracted from him.

How can a company that doesn't have the diligence to correct very obvious spelling mistakes on its website, have the diligence to audit NNPC properly. Whoever was given the task to design the website needs to be sacked asap!

It should be between Accidents and Armed robbery attacks. These two are much more frequent and widespread than the others. If I have to pick one, I will say it's accidents. Boko rams should be the least of all.

People are just being mischievous besides, the pictures don't prove anything. A lot of people will believe anything because they are blinded and stricken by poverty.

Top to bottom.

Hilarious, shameful and exhilarating all at the same time.

Yeah right. GEJ has become a "dictator" and he is fixing Nigeria. Ho ho ho!!!

They should be fried for their negligence even if they eventually produce the suspect.

Just gimmie the light. Yeah yeah!

I will gladly accept any of d 3 as my next president.

Not far from the truth.

We need this bill passed like yesterday.