The House of Representatives Downstream Committee has dismissed the call for dissolution of the Nigeria Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and removal of its Chief Executive Alhaji Ahmed Farouk as baseless, in violation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and capable of destroying the gains that comes with leadership stability that have helped in policy consistency, investor friendly process etc that is behind the gains presently been seen in the downstream sector.
The Reps Downstream Committee at its special committee meeting session presided over by its Chairman Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere with members in attendance unanimously resolved to dismiss the calls as in clear violation of the pia which under section 41 have made robust provision for tenure certainty to help create stability in the sector and lawmakers who made the law with the intention to see stability and growth in the sector can’t be seen supporting any thing that can rubbish the provisions of the wonderful PIA 2021.
The committee chairman said they dismissed the call on the grounds that the National Assembly, made the PIA and put in clauses for obtaining tenure security to help inspire investors’ confidence, policy consistency, ensure stability for a specific period of time after which the President reserves the right to extend the appointment or allow the occupant exit after completing the first term. So, the committee, after looking at some of the complains and issues, did not see any reason to warrant the committee supporting such call, due to the fact that none of the issues raised are rooted in the effectiveness of the regulatory agencies but about desire for change of guard.
The committee believes strongly that in the last few years, since the coming of PIA, there have been increased progress in the downstream and upstream sector, especially restoration of investors’ confidence and fresh inflow of investment funds into the downstream sector, running into billion of dollars.
We made the PIA for a reason, and we cannot join in asking for the violation of the PIA, thereby destroying the decades of work on the PIA.
The Parliament worked so hard to create this magnificent legislation. The building of investor’s confidence, building of clarity, building of transparency, building of processes are key gains we are seeing today. The committee is not saying that investigating agency should not diligently carry out it’s function or prosecute any person found to have breached the law but the committee is completely against any idea that the PIA provisions can be dustbined and it’s provision ignored and that a regulatory body leader can be removed without due process and that once that culture is back,then it will send a wrong signal to the international committee of investors in the petroleum sectors to now feel that it is risky investing in a country where respect to the law can’t be gurranteed
So on that ground the committee is dismissing those calls as not being in line with relevant provisions of the PIA which has physically made provisions for tenure duration and also the allegations about the budget of the agency are ridiculous because some of those allegations were way above the entire capitals provision in the budget, So if an amount that is alleged to have been misappropriated is above the budget capital provision, how could you have said someone stole what was not even exiting?
“More importantly, the agency, especially the NMDPRA, is running at a deficit, finding it difficult to have resources to pay salaries and have not even done recruitment in the last 6-7 years because of the financial challenges and difficulties they are facing. More importantly, since the advent of the PIA, the two regulatory bodies, which is the NMDPRA and nuprc have so much put in measures that have reformed and carried out the regulatory intention of the makers of the PIA in upstream and downstream . The investment inflow since the coming of the two regulatory bodies, the NMDPRA and the NUPRC, is almost over $20 billion.
