Varsity teacher canvasses proper review of PIB before final passage

As the National Assembly puts final touches to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), a lecturer and former Commissioner for Economic Development in Akwa Ibom State, Professor Christopher Ekong, has advocated proper scrutiny of the bill before its final passage.

He stressed that a review of the bill would help the government achieve the enduring benefits it needed in the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy.

He made these observations while presenting a paper on “Making the Oil Sector More Beneficial to the Economy and Society,” during a two-day workshop organised by Chief Anthony Ani Chair of Public Finance at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State during the weekend.

Ekong, who teaches in the Department of Economics, after an overview of the oil industry and its benefits, noted a proper review of the PIB would enable the Federal Government to embark on a thorough reform of the sector for more sustainable benefits.

He argued that a careful analysis of the bill revealed that, some institutions established by it, if not reviewed, would create more problems than solving them, as was envisaged in the PIB.

“Institutions like the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPEC) and the arrangements for better compensation for host and impacted communities that the bill intended to create would create more problems for the country’s economy and the society than solve them, if not reviewed,” he said.

He pointed out that the oil sector has since 1971 contributed substantially to the huge financial earnings, which has helped to create impact in our society, but stressed that the sector could have done more that what it was doing presently.

Ekong also noted that the creation of the NPRC in the PIB Bill, was a clever way of handing over the nation’s wealth and power to influence the course of events in the country, including the choice of future government to a small club of unelected private individuals.

He further argued that some other arrangements in the bill, which he did not specify and which contained provisions that would permanently destabilise the society, should be rejected.

“The oil sector has contributed an average of 75 per cent of total earnings to the economy since 1971, this financial contribution has had effect in the society through allocations to the states and local government.

“The sector could have done more and can be made to do more. It was in recognition of this fact that the Federal Government announced its intention to reform the sector through the PIB and debates that have produced several versions of the Bill,” he added.

He further said for government to achieve its aims of reforming the oil and gas sector, it should continue to control the sector as it obtained in Norway.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should be reformed and made to function in the best interest of the Nigerian economy and entire society.

“The reform should focus on improving transparency of transactions, ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in the allocation and use of resources and promoting accountability in its operations,” he stated.