Buhari: Why I paid close attention to reforms in energy sector

President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is the second biggest achievement of his administration in energy sector.

Buhari said energy will remain the top priority of his administration till his last day in office, noting that this was the reason his government paid close attention to all the reforms that took place in the sector which he stated was for the overall benefit of the economy.

The President said this while declaring open the 2023 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, April 17.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, said he achieved so much in the oil and gas sector which he said also benefited private establishments.

He said: “We ensured there’s an adaptive framework for the indigenous companies to take advantage of the investment by the international oil companies.

“This has ensured that the indigenous companies grew there capacity tremendously and they are now considered for about five per cent of national oil and gas production which has led to an increase from two per cent in 2010.

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“The first task we combatted is the issue of funding and sanitising the oil and gas sector; we then proceeded to exit the federal government from joint registrar cash go-funding.

“This freed the Federal Government from the shoes of funding the oil sector.

“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) remains our second biggest achievement in energy sector. For decades we are told that because of various vested interest it would be nearly impossible to pass the bill but we made it happen.

“You will all agree with me that it was simply transitional. We did not rest but swiftly moved to bestow existing agencies with new regulators.

“The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were immediately transformed to Limited Liability Company.

“With a new brand and identity, it is becoming the most capitalised and the most profit producing company in Africa,” Buhari stated.

The President stressed that the incoming administration will have no difficulty administering the energy sector and positively guiding its future, based on the achievements of the current administration.

Buhari noted that he has documented his achievements properly for the future, adding that this year’s edition of the summit was not only about the scorecard of his administration in the oil and gas sector but also about the incoming administration and to ensure that it made impact as quickly as possible.

“Our perspectives has provided the incoming government the tools to guide Nigerians energy future.

“I enjoin industry stakeholders to give the incoming administration the support and cooperation I received from you,” President Buhari added.

The Star