PIB: Expert wants bill amended to tackle gas flaring, renewable energy, HCDTF mismanagement
Says NASS to begin work on a new Energy Industry Bill Seeks removal of crude sale from NNPC Ltd
As the legislature-passed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) continues to attract wide ranging interests with sharply dividing opinions of the stakeholders and industry experts, especially on the host communities trust fund (HCTF) and frontier exploration fund, now threatening the Bill’s presidential ascent, Nick Agule, a petroleum and energy expert is however taking a different approach.
He is calling on the National Assembly to move up to amend the Bill to spell out punitive actions against gas flaring, mismanagement of Host Communities Trust Fund (HCTF) and dedication of the Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF) solely for development of renewable energy.
He also urges that sale of crude from NNPC Ltd should be discouraged, citing inherent profligacy in the national oil company.
On the HCTF, Agule says neither the Senate’s 3% nor House of Reps’ 5% should be in contention, but the management of the funds.
It should not be about the quantum of money committed that should occupy attention, rather it is the application of that money. Currently the Niger Delta (oil producing) states have the following special intervention funds targeted at the region (not applicable to non-oil producing states) – 13% derivation, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the federal ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
Additionally, the Niger Delta states share in the federation account allocation and also earn their internally generated revenues. The oil companies also spend massively on CSR in the host communities (HCs).
Yet despite all these interventions and trillions of Naira funded to the Niger Delta states, the HCs remain pinned down in poverty with little development to show for it,” he declared.
According to him, “it will serve the HCs better if the energy and gusto that is being applied on debating the differences in the Senate and House of Reps passage of the amounts to be remitted to the HCDTF be directed to questioning the application of the interventions directed to the development of the HCs”.
He went to recommend that the National Assembly should move up to “begin work on a new bill; the
Energy Industry Bill that will cater holistically for all energy sources particularly renewable energy which is the energy for the future as the world transitions away from fossil fuels”.
Additionally, he wants the Nigerian national Assembly to move to “amend the PIB to raise the punitive measures for gas flaring to including revocation of operating licences and the filing of criminal charges on the executives of the defaulting companies”.
To be sure, Nick is of the opinion that the legislative arm should amend the yet to be assented PIB “to remove the sale of Nigeria’s crude from the NNPC Limited”.
Part of the fallout of the bill (when assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari) would lead to unbundling of the national oil company, which had operated as a controversial public monopoly for more than four decades.
According to him, NNPC has exhibited wanton profligacy and should not be given another chance. He advocates the selling the crude from NNPC Ltd “could be by transferring the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) the arm of the NNPC that manages the federal government’s investment in joint ventures (JVs) with international oil companies (IOCs) and the crude oil marketing division of the NNPC that sells FG’s share of crude oil produced by the JVs from the NNPC Limited and vesting them under the federal ministry of petroleum resources or even the federal ministry of finance.”
“Currently the NNPC takes the proceeds from Nigeria’s crude sales, spends as much as they want and transfers only what is left to the federation account. Recently the NNPC had the temerity to tell the nation that they will be spending every dollar from crude sales and will deliver zero to the federation account. This profligacy by the NNPC must stop to pave way for a fully commercialised entity to fund its operations from their own generated revenue and save Nigeria the resources currently being haemorrhaged by an inefficient NNPC,” he said.
Nick takes a completely different approach on the currently contentious Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF). For him, the national assembly should amend the PIB to dedicate the FEF solely for the development of renewable energy to position Nigeria to become a global player in the energy for the future.
For him, the national assembly should “amend the PIB to provide for serious punitive measures for mismanagement of the Host Community Development Trust Funds. This will ensure that the funds are committed to the real beneficiary communities and not the current situation where the host community leadership benefits from the funds leaving their members pinned down in poverty living in damaged environments”.
He lauded the legislative arm, saying it has done commendably well and acted courageously by passing the PIB. What is left is for the President to give assent to the PIB to enact it into law.
That last time the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (a fraction of the current bill) was placed before the President in 2018, he declined assent.
Given that the recently passed bill is an executive bill, we hope that the President speedily passes it into law so that nation will begin to reap from the benefits envisaged in the bill”.