₦airaland Forum

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has asked President Bola Tinubu to recall the executive order (EO) that stripped the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited of its oil revenue deduction powers.

On February 18, Tinubu signed an EO for the direct remittance of oil and gas revenues to the federation account allocation committee (FAAC).

Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, Festus Osifo, national president of PENGASSAN, said the EO was a “direct attack” on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).


“The executive order that was signed by the president yesterday is a direct attack on the PIA,” he said.


“The provisions are sections 8, 9, and 64 of the PIA. It’s a direct attack.”

Osifo said the president has used an executive order “to set aside a law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

“We think that with immediate effect, the president should recall that executive order, and have a second look at it, because we know that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has done everything possible to attract investment to the oil and gas industry,” he said.


The PENGASSAN president acknowledged that the president has the right to enact executive orders and the duty to safeguard the industry.

“But we strongly believe that, in this particular case, the president has been misled,” Osifo said.

“We strongly believe that the people advising the president did not actually tell him the entire truth,” Osifo said.

The PENGASSAN president said Tinubu’s action contradicts his efforts to attract both local and international investment to strengthen Nigeria’s economy.

He said if the president had been fully briefed on the implications of the recent executive order, he likely would have acted differently.

Given his background in the industry, his previous experience at ExxonMobil, as well as his understanding of how the sector has evolved, Osifo said the president would not have signed the executive order in its current form.

‘EXECUTIVE ORDERS CAN’T SUPERSEDE PIA’

Furthermore, Osifo said an executive order should not override the provisions of the PIA.

“You will agree with me that when we talk about executive orders, they cannot supersede the law of the land. Executive order cannot override the provision of a law,” he said.

The group leader also likened the president’s action to “signing an executive order setting aside Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)”.

“It’s just like the president waking up tomorrow and signing an executive order to decrease the government contribution in pension from the 10% government contribution today to 2%,” he added.

He described the EO as “quite troubling” and “an aberration”, questioning the signal it sends to investors.

“This should never have happened because at this time today, the president is telling Nigerians and the international community that he can one day use a law to set aside the grand law or the provisions of our constitution or the extant laws that are enacted by the national assembly,” Osifo said.

He warned that “the international community” could lose confidence in the PIA, fearing that the government might, through an executive order, raise the royalties they currently pay and override other provisions that protect their investments.


Osifo said if the order is not recalled, “our members are in danger of being declared redundant because NNPC may not be able to meet their obligations to our members”.

Bizibi:
Em wan remove food from their table

Bizibi:
Em wan remove food from their table

Mubiola360:
Most do not know that Asiwaju is fighting their battle but they lack deep sense of reasoning. This are the Cabals holding Nigeria progress in allowing the benefit of oil and gas to transcend on the citizens.
The masses will still attack Tinubu for these reforms . Pathetic

Bizibi:
Em wan remove food from their table

saintopus:
I knew something was amiss with the Executive Order signed by the President. The PIA was a well planned document that took the National Assembly years to develop and passed into law, now the President bypassed it with an Executive Order.
The President could have sent a bill to the NA repealing the Law establishing the PIA.

saintopus:
I knew something was amiss with the Executive Order signed by the President. The PIA was a well planned document that took the National Assembly years to develop and passed into law, now the President bypassed it with an Executive Order.
The President could have sent a bill to the NA repealing the Law establishing the PIA.

xxxx999jon:
The real thing to do actually is to scrap NNPC it's self period.. That entity is not viable.. Sell it off and let all the companies operating in the oil and gas pay taxes and royalty directly... Simple..

Not rocket science... Also it's good the way governments strip NNPC funds.

anonimi:
How Indorama sustains manufacturers, boosts Nigeria’s FX earnings

Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited (IEPL) has emerged as a major value creator in the Nigerian economy. It is responsible for the survival, growth and sustenance of many manufacturing companies in Nigeria today. A large number of plastic and allied firms depend on the Eleme-based company for petrochemical resins (or polymer resins) which serve as their raw materials.

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Since Indorama Corporation of Indonesia became core investor in the old Eleme Petrochemicals Company Limited (EPCL) in 2006 through privatisation programme of the Federal Government, the group has become a game changer in the Nigerian economy.

The petrochemical company has solved the major challenge facing a number of manufacturers— poor access to raw materials. Rather than scramble for foreign exchange to import inputs, the company ensures that manufacturers have access to their critical raw materials, enabling them to save costs and improve margins.

The major resins used by plastic and allied companies are polyethylene and polypropylene. Indorama produces about 45 grades of these products for various industries. About 600 of such companies in Nigeria depend on IEPL for their survival. They are estimated to have over 90,000 workers.

https://businessday.ng/real-sector/article/how-indorama-sustains-manufacturers-boosts-nigerias-fx-earnings/