Let the Petroleum Industry Act Breathe: A Premature Amendment Risks More Than It Solves

Let the Petroleum Industry Act Breathe: A Premature Amendment Risks More Than It Solves

There is a growing conversation around a possible amendment to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and while every legislation should remain open to improvement, it is my considered opinion that this particular move is premature and ill-timed.

The PIA, signed into law just in 2021, represents the most comprehensive reform in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector in decades. It was not crafted overnight it took over 20 years of consultation, legislative debate, and industry input. It is therefore only logical that we allow the Act to take full effect, settle into implementation, and deliver measurable outcomes before we consider changing it.

More importantly, the push to transfer strategic project responsibilities to the Ministry of Finance raises genuine concerns. As critical as the ministry is to Nigeria’s fiscal stability, oil and gas project oversight is not its core strength. You cannot outsource the strategic management of a highly technical sector to a body without deep institutional knowledge of its workings. Doing so opens the door to administrative confusion, weakened accountability, and a potential erosion of sector-specific expertise.

Rather than constantly shifting responsibility, Nigeria must focus on curbing corruption with clear frameworks, data-backed monitoring, and independent oversight. There are smarter ways to build transparency without compromising sectoral effectiveness.

Additionally, such a drastic shift in the governance structure of the sector may inadvertently undermine investor confidence; confidence that has only just started to rebound under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms. Serious global investors watch for stability, predictability, and policy discipline. Frequent tinkering with the legal and institutional frameworks of a key sector like oil and gas can signal volatility. That’s not what we need at this time.

Global benchmarks exist. Nations like Saudi Arabia (Saudi Aramco), Malaysia (Petronas), and Brazil (Petrobras) maintain a clear separation between strategic oil operations and the ministries that oversee revenue and budgeting. These countries empower their national oil companies with well-defined mandates, supported, not micromanaged by their governments. Nigeria should take a cue from this.

The current NNPC Ltd board, appointed by President Tinubu, is arguably one of the most competent and balanced in our history, reflecting a strong mix of technocratic expertise, corporate governance, and national representation. Under the leadership of the GCEO, Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the company has recorded steady progress from increased transparency to commercial focus and stakeholder engagement.

Ojulari brings not just technical brilliance but a management style rooted in quiet competence, strategy, and results. He has, in a short time, deepened investor relations, strengthened compliance frameworks, and kept the company on track in line with the spirit of the PIA and Mr President’s Renewed Hoped Agenda.

In conclusion, what Nigeria needs now is consistency not disruption. Let us allow the PIA to run its course. Let the institutions already in place: NNPC Ltd, the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and others continue the work they have only just begun. Premature amendments risk weakening what has taken years to build. Mr. President’s reforms deserve a chance to settle, and the global oil industry is watching.

Let us not be too quick to fix what hasn’t even been allowed to function fully.

Olufemi Ibitoye is a Public Affairs Analyst
writes from Abuja.