Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, while analysing the deep-seated issues plaguing Nigeria’s oil sector, has condemned the practice of the President serving as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, stating that he lacks the time to oversee the affairs of the both offices.
Agbakoba, stated this in an interview on ARISE NEWS on Thursday, while calling for a repeal of the Petroleum Industrial Act (PIA).
He criticised the misconception that commercialisation and privatisation automatically lead to efficiency, citing China and Saudi Arabia, which run state capitalism successfully, as examples.
“My point is Mr. President should not be the minister of petroleum resources because he doesn’t have the time. That thing about the President becoming the minister of petroleum resources has to stop.
“If the PIA is such a fantastic bill, why then are we having the problem of fuel scarcity that I first experienced in 1972? Why is it continuing? There was a misconception that commercialisation necessarily means efficiency. It doesn’t. China does not commercialise anything. It runs state capitalism. Saudi Arabia and Aramco, also runs state capitalism. So, I personally retract what I felt initially that commercialisation and privatisation are vehicles of development. They are not, as long as Nigeria is concerned.”
He also challenged the effectiveness of privatisation in Nigeria, arguing that it has not led to development or poverty alleviation, but has rather been channeled to enriching the pockets of certain individuals.
“I challenge anybody to show me one successful privatised entity since this started in 2000. What has happened is that the state enterprises have been privatised into the private pockets of individuals. Nothing has come to us as specified in section 14 and we remain very poor. Poverty is everywhere to the point where we must be careful about food riot” he said, urging a re-evaluation of Nigeria’s privatisation strategy.”
The former NBA President further raised concerns about the legality of joint venture agreements with IOCs, arguing that they contradict Section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution, which mandates state ownership of all natural resources.
He contrasted Nigeria’s management of its oil sector with that of Saudi Arabia, noting the competence and control exhibited by the latter. He stated the need for competent management within Nigeria’s oil sector, criticising the fragmented approach with multiple ministers and agencies.
“We are not competent in what is going on. For the Saudi Arabia people, they are totally competent. There might be corruption, but they understand the value chain and they control it. I have been in shipping for 40 years. I have worked for several Director Generals of NIMASA and not a single person has owned a vessel or lifted one barrel of crude in Nigeria. Why? That is not corruption. It is the fact that we don’t even realise the money. The PIA is cluttered by too many institutions, all contracts.
“Saudi Arabia had just one minister of energy controlling the entire gamut of the hydrocarbon chain. Here we have the minister of petroleum, who doubles as the President, we have the minister of State, we have the NNPC, the only difference between the NNPC of old as a regulator and the so called NNPC of today is the letter L.”
Agbakoba also spoke about the entrenched culture of financial mismanagement, which he described as a “chop-chop” culture prevalent in Nigeria, where financial impropriety and contract sharing are widespread.
“What I see in this thing is the usual chop-chop and contract sharing. Nigeria is a country where the given is chopping money.”
Chioma Kalu
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