President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the national assembly
to amend the recent Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), citing unbalanced
geopolitical representation.
Buhari’s request was contained in a letter read by Senate
President Ahmad Lawan on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday.
The president said, having studied the administrative
structure of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (Commission) and the
Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Authority),
he is proposing some amendments.
He requested the removal of ministers of petroleum and
finance from the board of the two institutions.
“The two ministries already have constitutional
responsibilities of either supervision or intergovernmental relations that will
continue to perform such roles without being in the board,” he said.
“It is also important to note that administratively, the
representatives of the ministries in the board will be directors in the same
rank in the institutions.
“This may bring some confrontations on some decision making
especially on issues of staff-related matters.”
Buhari asked the number of non-executive members on the
boards of both institutions to be increased.
“The PIA provided for the appointment of two non-executive
members for the board of the two institutions. I am of the view that this
membership initiates limitation and does not address the principle of balanced
geopolitical representation of the country,” he added.
“I, therefore, pray for the intervention of the ninth
assembly to correct this oversight in the interest of national unity. Needless
to add that this amendment will provide a sense of participation and inclusion
for almost every section of the country in the decision making of strategic
institutions such as the oil industry.
“If this amendment is approved, it will now increase the
number of non-executive members from two to six. That is, one person from each
geo-political zone.”
The president also asked the national assembly to exempt
serving public officers “from the established confirmation process for
political appointments.”
“This will ensure effective management of the
revenue-generating institutions through uniform implementation of public
service roles for employees in the authority,” he said.
Last weekend, the president directed the incorporation of
Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and appointed board and
management of the new company.
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