…say reform’s success must be measured by benefits to Nigerians, not institutional changes alone
By Gloria Ikibah 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has called for stronger corporate accountability and effective legislative oversight of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), warning that commercial autonomy must come with responsibility.
Abbas said the success of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) depended not only on its legal provisions but also on how effectively they were implemented.
The Speaker who was represented by the House Leader, Rep. Julius Ihonvbere, stated this at the opening of a 3-day retreat, on Petroleum Industry Act Implementation: The PIA, Corporate Governance and Legislative Oversight, organised by NNPC Ltd in collaboration with the Office of the Speaker on Monday in Abuja.
The Speaker described the PIA as one of Nigeria’s most consequential economic laws, saying it was designed to create a more transparent, commercially viable, accountable and investment-friendly petroleum industry.
Hd said: “Five years down the line, the central question is how much of that promise we have translated into practice”.
Abbas noted that the Act’s provisions, including the transformation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation into NNPC Ltd, the establishment of regulatory institutions and the introduction of a framework for host community development, were intended to address longstanding challenges in the sector.
However, he emphasised that “the passage of a reform law is not the same as the successful implementation of that reform”.
According to him, the transition of NNPC Ltd into a commercially oriented company was expected to improve operational efficiency, attract investment and create greater value from Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
“But commercial autonomy must be accompanied by corporate accountability. The freedom to make commercial decisions must go hand in hand with responsibility for their consequences,” he said.
The Speaker said government, management and the legislature had distinct but complementary responsibilities in the management of state-owned commercial enterprises.
He explained that government, as shareholder, must protect the public interest, while management should retain the professional independence to make commercial decisions and accept responsibility for performance.
The legislature, he added, must ensure that national assets remained subject to constitutional and statutory accountability.
“The legislature’s responsibility is not to substitute parliamentary judgment for management decisions or interfere arbitrarily in legitimate commercial operations. It is to ensure that statutory mandates are respected, governance obligations are fulfilled, public resources are protected and the institutions established by law deliver on their responsibilities,” Abbas said.
He stressed that effective oversight should improve governance without undermining operational efficiency, adding that it must go beyond retrospective investigations to promote institutional learning, early intervention and better performance.
Abbas said the 10th House had sustained its engagement with the petroleum industry through retreats, committee activities and investigations.
He recalled that the House held a two-day retreat in April 2024 on economic transformation and development, with emphasis on the implementation of the PIA and tax reforms.
He also cited engagements by the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) in Port Harcourt and Lagos in June 2026, which examined operational challenges, regulatory performance, domestic gas utilisation and the protection of critical energy infrastructure.
The House, he said, had continued to investigate crude oil theft, scrutinise pipeline surveillance arrangements and pursue measures to strengthen the security of petroleum infrastructure.
“We recognise that the protection of national petroleum assets is not merely an industry concern; it is an economic and national security imperative,” he added.
The Speaker listed production constraints, crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, infrastructure deficiencies, investment uncertainty and regulatory bottlenecks among the challenges facing the sector.
He also called for adequate crude oil supplies to domestic refineries without undermining the commercial viability of upstream operations.
On the country’s gas resources, Abbas said unlocking their potential required sustained investment in infrastructure, appropriate commercial arrangements and regulatory certainty.
“These challenges cannot be addressed by legislation alone. They demand consistent implementation, institutional coordination, credible regulatory enforcement and investor confidence,” he said.
He urged participants at the retreat to examine whether NNPC Ltd’s corporate structure was delivering the transparency, efficiency and commercial discipline envisaged by the PIA, and to identify governance gaps requiring legislative or institutional attention.
Abbas said the retreat should produce concrete outcomes, including the identification of implementation gaps, areas requiring stronger legislative attention, improved engagement between House committees and NNPC Ltd, and a framework for monitoring agreed actions.
He also cautioned against assuming that every implementation challenge required a new law.
“Where existing provisions are adequate but poorly implemented, our priority should be enforcement and institutional compliance. Where genuine legislative gaps or unintended consequences have emerged, the National Assembly must be prepared to consider appropriate amendments.
“Sometimes, what is needed is the faithful enforcement of the law already in place.”
The Speaker said the PIA’s success should be measured by increased production, greater investment, improved energy security, stronger domestic refining, enhanced revenue generation, employment opportunities and tangible benefits to Nigerians, particularly communities hosting petroleum operations.
“Ultimately, the petroleum industry must work for the Nigerian people. That is the larger public purpose that must guide our collective efforts,” he said.
Abbas reaffirmed the commitment of the National Assembly to supporting the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration through legislation, constructive engagement and rigorous oversight.
He said the lasting legacy of the PIA would be determined not by its enactment, but by the extent to which it transformed the petroleum industry, unlocked the value of Nigeria’s natural resources and improved the lives of citizens.
The Speaker while declaring the retreat open, expressed hope that its deliberations will strengthen the commitment to effective implementation of the Act.
PIA Summit: 3 Streams Synergy Seeks Stronger NNPC Accountability
Adelabu calls for frank discussions on gaps in implementation of petroleum industry reforms
In her welcome remarks, Chief Executive Officer of 3 Streams Synergy Ltd, Doyin Adelabu, called for stronger institutional collaboration and accountability to ensure that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) delivers its intended benefits to Nigerians.
She said five years after the Act came into force, stakeholders needed to assess the progress made in transforming the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited into a commercially driven, transparent and accountable company.
“The Act sets out to turn NNPC into a commercially driven, transparent and accountable company, and to give the industry a governance framework that attracts investment and serves the Nigerian people,” she said.
Adelabu said the summit will examine NNPC Limited’s corporate governance and accountability, as well as ways to strengthen legislative oversight and collaboration.
She urged participants to engage openly and identify practical solutions to the challenges affecting the implementation of the reforms.
“At 3 Streams Synergy, we believe reforms succeed when institutions and the people who run them have the capacity and the collaboration to deliver,” she said.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam, in hus goodwill message called for a review of the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), five years after its enactment, to identify gaps and improve its effectiveness.
Salam said the assessment should go beyond the oil and gas sector to examine how well the important legislation had been implemented.
He recalled the difficulties the legislation faced before its passage by the 9th National Assembly, and said the five-year milestone provided an opportunity to assess its impact and determine what needed to change.
“It is proper that after five years of implementation, that we have an opportunity to sit back and see what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and what do we need to do to make sure that we think out with the law in a manner that will make it more productive,” Salam said.
He urged stakeholders to identify and replicate best practices that could improve the petroleum industry.
Also speaking, the representative of the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), Rep. Lanre Okunlola, said the transformation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) must be measured by tangible improvements in the sector.
Okunlola said the PIA was designed to improve corporate governance, attract investment, increase private sector participation, enhance operational efficiency and promote the development of host communities.
He, however, stressed that the reform’s impact must be reflected in crude oil production, domestic refining capacity, petroleum supply security, revenue generation and transparency.
“The measure of transformation must go beyond legislative provisions and its shared reforms. It must reflect measurable improvement in crude oil production, domestic refined capacity, petroleum supply security, revenue generation and operational transparency and value creation for the Nigerian people,” he said.
Okunlola called for stronger institutional collaboration among NNPC Ltd, regulatory bodies and the National Assembly, adding that effective oversight was necessary to ensure accountability and protect the public interest.
He said a successful transformation of NNPC Ltd should ultimately lead to improved energy security, job creation, national prosperity and better living conditions for Nigerians.
