The minority caucus in the House of Representatives said it would be pushing for amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act.
The Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, disclosed this at the end of the Offshore Technology Conference 2021, in Houston, United States, on Friday.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Senior Legislative Aide to the Minority Leader, Tony Ayaegbunam, Elumelu maintained that the minority caucus would “intensify its legislative roles to ensure greater accountability in the sector, particularly in the context of the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act.”
In the statement titled, ‘OTC 2021: Minority Reps Poised For Tougher Oversight in Energy Sector – Elumelu,’ the Minority Leader noted that despite its certain shortcomings, which require further amendments, “the PIL presents robust legal instruments that can guarantee enhanced operations in the midstream and downstream sectors of the industry, if effectively implemented and monitored.”
He said, “The OTC, as a capacity-building forum, afforded us the opportunity to meet and interact with professionals, industry leaders, policymakers and investment partners on global best practices for greater productivity and transparency in the energy sector.
“The minority caucus will be leveraging the gains of the conference to further deepen our efforts towards expanding the productivity in the sector with emphasis on opportunities in local refining as well as investments in by-product and associated markets so as to achieved our full capacity in the industry.”
Elumelu added that such effort would cover opportunities being missed by Nigeria in pipelines, refining, petrochemicals, crude and product tankers, local distribution as well as other offshore and onshore energy ventures.
The effort, according to the Minority Leader, would further expand our national revenue inflow as well as provide employment and investment opportunities for economic recovery.
“The Minority Leader also assured that the caucus will, upon resumption of plenary, commence critical legislative processes, including possible amendment to the PIL to further guarantee best practices in the industry,” the statement partly read.
