Following the allegation of N32 billion revenue leakage levelled against Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Account, a Civil Society Group, Media Practitioner in the Energy Sector, MPES has cautioned the Reps Committee to stop raising false alarm against the Commission stating that “No penny is Missing in NUPRC’.
In a press statement the organization issued to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday and signed by its National Coordinator, Johnson Eze, MPES decried the House Committee’s stance delivering judgement before hearing which led to the screaming headlines that erroneously painted NUPRC as diverting revenue of government noting that it is capable of undermining the bold progress NUPRC is making in attracting investments in the upstream petroleum sector.
“Public hearing we all know usually consists of documentary and oral evidence. In this case, the House committee simply relied on technical documents to pass a hasty judgement without reconciling gray areas with NUPRC that prepared them” MPES pointed out stressing that when facts will be laid before them the whole hullabaloo will fizzle out .
In addition MPES emphasized that “the Reps Committee should realize that the petroleum industry is like the goose that lay the golden egg for the Nigerian economy and as such should be careful not to distabilize it with unverified allegations”.
Industry history is reminiscent of how herculean it has been for Nigerian Government to produce the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA. Now that we have the PIA which automatically established NUPRC and luckily have a competent Management Team led by Engr Gbenga Komolafe implementing it.
“We should bear in mind that the transition from the pre-PIA to PIA regimes comes with many commitments , sacrifice and challenges. Any one who does not have the gratitude to appreciate or support NUPRC should not complicate the commission’s job by generating unsubstantiated scandals to tarnish its image,” it stated.
The oil and gas industry is an international business where integrity is an indispensable asset.
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