Senate Okays Four-man Board for Upstream Regulatory Commission

•DPR ceases to exist with confirmation of NURC Board, says Lawan

Deji Elumoye and Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The Senate has confirmed the nomination of a four-man board for the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NURC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Those confirmed included Isa Ibrahim Modibbo – Chairman; Engr. Gbenga Komolafe – Chief Executive; Hassan Gambo – Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts; and Ms Rose Ndong – Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management.

The confirmation of the nominees at yesterday’s plenary was sequel to the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources.

Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Albert Bassey Akpan, said the nominees demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the workings of the petroleum industry, especially the upstream petroleum sector, as well as the economics of petroleum exploration and production.

He added that the appointments of the nominees satisfied the requirements of Sections 11 and 18 (1-5) of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.

According to him, “there are no adverse reports against the nominees as record checks and other forms of investigations by security agencies did not reveal any negative trace against them.”

Akpan said the Committee was satisfied about the qualifications, experience, suitability, competence and integrity of the nominees to assume the position of Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Commissioners of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission would provide a foundation for the stabilisation of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

According to him: “The Regulatory Commission has the enormous and huge responsibility of setting and establishing the Commission as provided in the Petroleum Industry Act.

“They have the unenviable responsibility of ensuring that they commit themselves and work hard to provide the solid and stable foundation for that matter, that they don’t waste any time because time is of essence.

“The Petroleum Industry will go through a reform process and the process has already started.

This Commission is one of the huge arms of those reforms that will stabilise the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

“While the Senate confirms them, we expect nothing less than commitment and patriotism on their side. The Senate wishes them the best and a very fruitful tenure as they take their offices.

“We expect that the other regulatory authority for downstream and midstream will also be confirmed as soon as possible, so they also start their work immediately.”

The Senate President also said the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) would cease to exist as a regulatory agency in the petroleum sector with the confirmation of the appointment of board members of the NURC.

He stated that the DPR would stop to function once the approved board of NURC starts functioning

Implication of the establishment of the Commission on the continued existence of DPR, came to the fore when Senator Chukwuka Utazi while contributing to the Revised 2022 – 2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) said the DPR should no longer be subjected to control of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Lawan was quick to respond to Utazi’s submission saying “we need to get the laws passed right, the question of DPR being controlled by the NNPC will not arise again once the NURC swings into action.

“The DPR in a nutshell will cease to exist the moment the approved board of NURC start working.”

Meanwhile, the Senate Presiden has advised his colleagues to cultivate the habit of talking less to the journalists to prevent being misunderstood.

He said: “I will encourage us to talk less to the press not to give the press wrong impression but talk more to ourselves”.

Lawan was responding to a point of order on privilege raised by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege on the interview granted by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Eyinaya Abaribe to a Television station where he disclosed that the Senate voted along party line during the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Omo-Agege raised his grievances concerning what Senator Abaribe told the television station on Tuesday, that prior to the consideration of PIB, it was decided that the Niger Delta host communities would be given five per cent, but APC members later took party position and reduced it to three per cent.

He said there was no instance where the APC caucus met and took a decision that the people of the host communities have their allotted percentage of the bill be reduced.

Omo-Agege said he felt extremely offended by Abaribe’s comments and speaks for himself as well as members of APC within the party.

He pointed to the fact the he remembered many voting for the approval of five per cent and the matter was debated at the chamber until the majority voted for three per cent, which he said was democratically agreed.

According to him, it was not a party decision, it was neither the APC nor PDP position as suggested by Abaribe

In his remarks, Lawan said: “Senate as far as I can remember never voted along party lines. As politicians ours is to lobby and engage our colleagues each time we think there’s an issue we are interested in.

“When the Senate comes to a decision we should be at the forefront of informing the public properly. Because it is our duty more than anybody else to give the correct information to the public.

“Having said this, this is one chamber. Even if it is one Senator that stands for something and that Senator loses the vote, that Senator must not lose the hope of getting other Senators to see the issue the way they stand the next day”

“I would have given the Minority Leader an opportunity to say something but I’m sure that this is a matter of privilege and we all have learnt our lessons. No reason for us to give the wrong impression. We never voted along party lines and I can’t imagine the Deputy Senate President voting for three per cent.”