The All Progressives Congress, APC, has advised President Muhammad Buhari to discard the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, review fuel subsidies and sell off some units of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
The PIB should be scrapped and replaced by a new reform bill that is based on discussions with international oil companies to “ensure all perspectives are adequately considered,” Bloomberg quoted the APC as saying in a report it obtained on Monday, with the party’s Director of Policy, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, confirming the authenticity of the document.
The bill has been delayed in parliament for six years due to political wrangling and opposition by international oil companies against proposed tax and royalty terms, deterring investment in Africa’s top oil producer.
The APC handed the report, which was based on closed-door meetings on May 20 and 21 in Abuja, to Buhari, who took office on May 29 and has yet to appoint a cabinet.
The report “is not the final position of government,” Bloomberg quoted Fayemi as saying by email.
Buhari had pledged to clamp down on graft, including in the oil industry, which is the source of about two-thirds of the government’s revenue and 90 per cent of export earnings.
The report recommends a review of audits and corruption allegations against the NNPC in the government’s first 100 days in office.
After 18 months, the government should seek to commercialise the NNPC, possibly partially listing the entity and selling off its fuel-retailing and refining business, the APC said.
The President disbanded the board of the NNPC on Friday in an attempt to fight graft in the industry.
The APC report recommends that all top oil executives, senior NNPC staff members and government officials must declare their assets.
It also calls for the NNPC board to meet more regularly and legislation governing the corporation to be amended to …Read More
Source:: New Mail
