BUSINESS
PIA: IoD Points at Ways to Facilitate Successful Implementation
The Institute of Directors (IoD) on Monday highlighted important areas to be reviewed by the authorities to engender the successful implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Dr Ije Jidenma, President, IoD, gave the advice in a policy paper titled: “Making the Petroleum Industry Act work: A Position Paper,” on Monday in Lagos.
Jidenma said that while there was no such thing as a perfect piece of legislation, recent events pointed to implementation ‘headwinds.
She stressed that Nigeria in its implementation of the PIA must send the right signals consistent with the outlined noble objectives.
Jidenma outlined the institute’s concern with its implementation to include stalled downstream deregulation, implementation complexities, need for gas investment incentivising, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.
According to her, the Federal Government’s decision to stall the Act raised further questions on section 53 (7) which requires “NNPC Ltd and any of its subsidiaries to conduct their affairs on a commercial basis in a profitable and efficient manner without recourse to government funds.”
This, she said, was highlighted in view of the sum of $341 billion (or N1.43 trillion) which was reported to had been spent in 2021 on petroleum subsidy.
Jidenma tasked government to create an enabling environment that would make implementation of deregulation easier and readily acceptable.
“Pending their full privatisation, government must fast-track the ongoing full rehabilitation of refineries to ensure that the import freight element in the price of product is minimised;
“Government should review the current fuel pricing mechanism and must as a matter of urgency, work on removing all the inefficiencies and distortions that are negatively impacting the landing costs of products,” she said.
She noted that feedback from the business community suggested that some aspects of the Act might prove difficult to implement in practice because of inherent complications.
Jidenma cited two examples that would suffice as: the hydrocarbon tax and Company Income Tax (CIT) overlap and conversion from existing Oil Prospecting License (OPLs) to the new Petroleum Prospecting License (PPLs).
She noted that while section 302 (1) states that CIT shall apply to companies engaged in petroleum operations (upstream, midstream and downstream), section 260 (1) states that Hydrocarbon Tax shall apply to companies upstream: onshore, shallow water and deep offshore.
“Hence, upstream firms would be subject to both Hydrocarbon Tax and CIT.
“Section 92 (1) allows for the voluntary conversion of existing oil prospecting license (OPL) to a petroleum prospecting license (PPL).
“However, the OPLs cover a larger size of 2,950 square kilometres while the new PPLs depending on terrain cover 300 square kilometres (onshore and shallow offshore) and 1,000 square kilometres (deep offshore).
“Conversion may not be as straight- forward as anticipated by the Act.
“To reduce the pain from implementation complexity, IoD Nigeria is putting forward the need to develop a uniform template for dealing with overlaps; and provide greater clarity on voluntary lease conversion and a clear timeline,” she said.
She recommended the exemption of non-associated gas producers and developers from disallowing borrowing cost for the purpose of CIT computations.
“State an objective basis for determining the length of the transition from a regulated regime to a ‘willing-buyer, willing-seller’ gas market.
“Except where it is strictly in the public interest, undue price regulation should be avoided,” she said.
The IoD President noted that while there was evidence that the PIA attempted to incorporate ESG principles, there were many ‘missing links.
She said that the Act failed to encourage or mandate sustainability reporting.
Jidenma added that the NNPC Ltd Board reflected a degree of gender diversity but that might not be true of the Commission and Authority.
According to her, a review reveals that only one in six appointees in the boards of NNPC and the two regulatory authorities, put together, are women.
She said that there were no prescription on the matter for other boards of companies in the petroleum operations space.
“In view of Nigeria’s declared commitment to Net-Zero 2060 at the CoP26 held in Glasgow, UK – three months after the Act was signed – it is important that urgency implied by the commitment is reflected in the speed and implementation of the PIA.
“The Act ought to include a specific penalty for failure to comply with section 103 and for environmental damages.
“While it is commendable to have in place trusts and plans that cater for host communities, it is important to ensure related funds are well-managed and properly accounted for, if the desired socio- economic growth will result.
“Equally important is for all players, as a matter of good practice, to incorporate sustainability reporting as part of applying ESG principles.
“The Act should prescribe what companies engaged in petroleum operations (upstream, midstream and downstream) should consider adequate gender balance,” she said. (NAN)
By Tambaya Julius, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has auctioned 22,175 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) seized by Operation Whirlwind along the Lagos-Ogun axis, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N32.1 million.
The National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Deputy Comptroller Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this on Monday at the public auction held at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos.
Aliyu said the exercise was carried out on the directive of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to ensure transparency, accountability and proper handling of seized petroleum products in line with extant laws and approved procedures.
He said Customs operatives intercepted 887 jerry cans, each containing 25 litres of petrol, bringing the total to 22,175 litres. Five vehicles used to convey the products were also seized.
According to Aliyu, the seizures were made at identified smuggling flashpoints, including Imeko, Ilara, Ilaro, Idiroko and Seme-Badagry, following credible intelligence.
He put the combined DPV of the seized petrol and means of conveyance at N32.1 million, describing the operation as targeted and intelligence-driven.
Aliyu said Operation Whirlwind was focused on stopping the illegal movement, diversion and cross-border smuggling of petroleum products to neighbouring countries.
He said the NCS had stepped up surveillance, intelligence gathering and enforcement along routes identified as vulnerable to petroleum product smuggling.
The initiative, he added, was aimed at protecting the country’s economic interests, strengthening national energy security and ensuring that products meant for domestic consumption were not diverted.
Aliyu urged participants and stakeholders to follow the approved auction guidelines to ensure a fair and transparent exercise.
He commended the Comptroller-General and the NCS management for their support and strategic direction, while also appreciating the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for their continued collaboration.
He praised officers and men of Operation Whirlwind Zone A for their professionalism and commitment to duty, warning smugglers that the operation would continue to dismantle illegal networks through intelligence-led enforcement.
The Customs coordinator also called on border communities to provide timely information on suspicious activities, stressing that tackling smuggling required the cooperation of all stakeholders.
The Acting Commandant of the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Deputy Comptroller Patience Ita, said the Comptroller-General had maintained a zero-tolerance stance on the smuggling of petroleum products and other goods.
Ita, who hosted the auction, said the exercise should serve as a warning to smugglers, noting that even small-scale diversion of petroleum products could have serious consequences for the national economy.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) recorded N7.2 trillion Profit After Tax (PAT) in 2025, a 33 per cent increase from N5.4 trillion.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a media briefing after the company’s AGM and second Earnings Call.
Revenue declined to N34.
5 trillion from N45.1 trillion in 2024.Ojulari attributed the 24 per cent revenue decline to lower crude oil prices and reduced product volumes following market deregulation.
He said earnings per share rose to N35.
90 from N27.07, while return on equity improved by 200 basis points to 16 per cent.The company’s declared dividend increased by 35 per cent to N5.8 trillion, while taxes, royalties and other government remittances rose 39 per cent to N22.3 trillion.
“Stronger earnings in spite of this pressure demonstrate the resilience of NNPC Limited’s operations,” Ojulari said.
He said profit grew because NNPC had improved its operations and maintained discipline across its businesses.
Ojulari said crude oil and condensate production reached a five-year peak of 1.77 million barrels per day.
He added that gas supply reached a three-year high of 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day.
“Stronger performance gives NNPC Limited more capacity to invest, contribute to public revenue and strengthen Nigeria’s energy security,” he said.
On infrastructure, Ojulari said the mainline of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline had been completed.
He said work was ongoing on tie-ins to delivery points, beginning with Abuja, followed by Ajaokuta and Kaduna.
According to him, the next milestone is to commence gas flow through the pipeline to industries and power plants.
Ojulari said the company completed the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline in 2026 after several years of challenges.
On the refineries, he said prospective partners under NNPC’s technical equity partnership model had conducted a three-month onsite review.
He said more than 34 engineers participated in the review, adding that NNPC was now concluding the report.
Ojulari said the company was targeting self-sustaining and profitable refineries, with a pathway expected to be defined soon.
He reaffirmed NNPC’s target of producing two million barrels of crude oil daily by 2027 and three million barrels by 2030.
He said gas production targets were 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion by 2030.
“NNPC plans to mobilise over 60 billion dollars of investment across the energy value chain,” he added.
Ojulari said more than 1,000 newly recruited professionals joined NNPC in 2025 under its Talent to Value programme.
He said the recruits completed a one-year internship and training programme before being deployed across the company. (NAN)
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says there is a need for sustained capacity building in competition reporting and issues.
The Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Tunji Bello, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
Bello described competition matters as a relatively new area in the country adding that it required specialised knowledge among journalists, regulators and other stakeholders.
He said that competition law and consumer protection regulations had made stakeholders’ education a priority for the commission.
Bello said that the FCCPC recently supported the training of judges through the National Judicial Institute (NJI) to deepen understanding of competition-related matters.
He noted that members of the judiciary also required exposure to the nuances of the emerging field.
“We recognised that because it is a new terrain, the judges themselves are not familiar with the nuances.
”So we brought in experts on competition,” he said.
Bello stressed that the media had a critical role in promoting public understanding of competition and consumer protection issues.
“If FCCPC is becoming more known to the public, it is as a result of the kind of publicity you have given us,” he said. (NAN)
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