PIA: Reps demand accountability, measurable benefits for Nigerians

…Say five years after enactment, reforms must boost production, revenue, investment

By Gift ChapiOdekina, Abuja

The House of Representatives has called for greater accountability in the management of Nigeria’s petroleum resources, insisting that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) must deliver increased oil production, higher government revenue, improved energy security, job creation and tangible benefits for Nigerians.

The House said five years after the enactment of the legislation, the Federal Government and relevant institutions must demonstrate the impact of the reforms on the country’s oil and gas industry and the wider economy.

Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, stated this on Monday at the opening of a three-day retreat on Petroleum Industry Act Implementation: The PIA, Corporate Governance and Legislative Oversight, organised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in collaboration with the Office of the Speaker in Abuja.

Abbas, who was represented by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, said the success of the PIA should not be measured merely by the establishment of new institutions or the restructuring of the national oil company, but by its ability to deliver value from Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

He described the PIA as one of the country’s most consequential economic legislations, designed to establish a transparent, commercially viable, accountable and investment-friendly petroleum industry.

“Five years down the line, the central question is how much of that promise we have translated into practice,” he said.

The Speaker noted that the transformation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into NNPC Ltd, the establishment of regulatory institutions and the introduction of a framework for host community development were intended to address longstanding challenges in the petroleum sector.

He, however, stressed that the passage of the legislation must be followed by effective implementation to achieve its objectives.

“The passage of a reform law is not the same as the successful implementation of that reform,” Abbas said.

He identified crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, production constraints, infrastructure deficiencies, investment uncertainty and regulatory bottlenecks as major challenges requiring urgent attention.

According to him, protecting petroleum infrastructure remains critical to safeguarding national revenue and strengthening the country’s economic and security interests.

“We recognise that the protection of national petroleum assets is not merely an industry concern; it is an economic and national security imperative,” he said.

Abbas also called for adequate crude oil supplies to domestic refineries without undermining the commercial viability of upstream operations, noting that Nigeria must strengthen its domestic refining capacity and improve energy security.

On natural gas, he said unlocking the country’s vast resources required sustained investment in infrastructure, appropriate commercial arrangements and regulatory certainty.

The Speaker further stressed that NNPC Ltd’s commercial independence must be matched with transparency and accountability, given the strategic importance of the assets it manages to the Nigerian people.

“But commercial autonomy must be accompanied by corporate accountability. The freedom to make commercial decisions must go hand in hand with responsibility for their consequences,” he said.

He said the legislature would continue to ensure that national petroleum assets remained subject to constitutional and statutory accountability without unnecessary interference in legitimate business operations.

Abbas disclosed that the 10th House had sustained its oversight activities in the petroleum sector through committee engagements, investigations and consultations with stakeholders.

He recalled the House’s two-day retreat in April 2024 on economic transformation and development, which examined the implementation of the PIA and tax reforms.

He also cited engagements by the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) in Port Harcourt and Lagos in June 2026, where operational challenges, regulatory performance, domestic gas utilisation and the protection of energy infrastructure were examined.

The Speaker urged participants to identify implementation gaps, strengthen collaboration between NNPC Ltd and relevant House committees, and develop a framework for monitoring agreed actions.

He cautioned, however, against assuming that every challenge in implementing the PIA required fresh legislation.

“Where existing provisions are adequate but poorly implemented, our priority should be enforcement and institutional compliance. Where genuine legislative gaps or unintended consequences have emerged, the National Assembly must be prepared to consider appropriate amendments,” he said.

Abbas maintained that the ultimate test of the legislation would be its contribution to increased oil production, investment, government revenue, domestic refining, employment opportunities and improved living conditions for Nigerians, particularly communities hosting petroleum operations.

“Ultimately, the petroleum industry must work for the Nigerian people. That is the larger public purpose that must guide our collective efforts,” he added.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of 3 Streams Synergy Ltd, Doyin Adelabu, called for stronger institutional collaboration and accountability to ensure that the PIA delivered its intended benefits to Nigerians.

Adelabu said the five-year milestone provided an opportunity to assess the transformation of NNPC Ltd into a commercially driven, transparent and accountable company.

“The Act sets out to turn NNPC into a commercially driven, transparent and accountable company, and to give the industry a governance framework that attracts investment and serves the Nigerian people,” she said.

She said the retreat would examine NNPC Ltd’s corporate governance and accountability, while identifying ways to strengthen legislative oversight and collaboration among relevant institutions.

Adelabu urged participants to engage openly and develop practical solutions to challenges affecting the implementation of the reforms.

“At 3 Streams Synergy, we believe reforms succeed when institutions and the people who run them have the capacity and the collaboration to deliver,” she said.

Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Bamidele Salam, called for a comprehensive review of the PIA’s implementation to determine areas of progress and shortcomings five years after its enactment.

Salam recalled the challenges that preceded the passage of the legislation by the Ninth National Assembly, saying the anniversary provided an opportunity to assess its impact and identify areas requiring improvement.

He said, “It is proper that after five years of implementation, that we have an opportunity to sit back and see what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and what do we need to do to make sure that we think out with the law in a manner that will make it more productive.”

He urged stakeholders to identify best practices that could be adopted to improve the performance of the petroleum industry.

Similarly, a representative of the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), Lanre Okunlola, said the success of the PIA must be reflected in measurable improvements across the petroleum industry.

Okunlola said the legislation was designed to strengthen corporate governance, attract investment, increase private sector participation, improve operational efficiency and promote the development of host communities.

He stressed that the impact of the reforms must be evident in crude oil production, domestic refining capacity, petroleum supply security, revenue generation and operational transparency.

“The measure of transformation must go beyond legislative provisions and its shared reforms. It must reflect measurable improvement in crude oil production, domestic refined capacity, petroleum supply security, revenue generation and operational transparency and value creation for the Nigerian people,” he said.

He called for stronger collaboration among NNPC Ltd, regulatory agencies and the National Assembly, stressing that effective oversight remained necessary to protect the public interest and ensure accountability.

Okunlola said the successful transformation of the petroleum industry should ultimately translate into improved energy security, job creation, national prosperity and better living conditions for Nigerians.