TheCable

Niyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment, has inaugurated a technical committee to review the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and its implications on the statutory responsibilities of the ministry.

Ifedayo Sayo, special adviser on media to the trade minister, announced this in a statement on Monday.

Adebayo said the committee headed by Muhammed Alhassan, the trade ministry’s director, of legal services, will among other things, “review the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and its implication on the Oil and Gas Export Permit being issued to exporters by CED.”

“Review the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 in relation to the Weights and Measures of the Act, and its implication on the Department,” the statement reads. 

“Highlight the implication of the ACT on the roles of CED and Weights and Measures Departments under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS).”

The committee will further suggest an appropriate strategy in bringing the NESS scheme to the trade ministry.

It is also expected to suggest ways to remedy the infractions on the responsibilities of the ministry, if any, and prepare relevant letters to President Muhammadu Buhari and the national assembly.

Adebayo explained that the review became necessary as the PIA tampered significantly with some statutory roles of the ministry. 

“As a Ministry, some of our roles as they relate to the administration of the Pre-shipment inspection and the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme had hitherto been under the Ministry of Finance, and are now under the new commission under the Petroleum Industry Act,” he said.

He emphasised the need for the ministry to leverage the window provided by the review of the PIA to enable it to play a more significant role under the scheme in line with its mandate.

“Therefore, your technical committee is expected to take a professional look at the document, come up with strategies that will help redress the identified issues,” Adebayo added.

“There is a sense of urgency in the execution of your assignment so that we can seek the amendment of the infractions on the statutory functions of the Ministry, especially through a request to relevant institutions of government.

“It is important to state that your assignment is critical to the continuity of some of our roles as a Ministry.

“I am confident in the quality of members chosen to undertake this assignment, therefore I task you all to make far-reaching recommendations that will help sustain and stabilise our operations.”

The technical committee has been directed to submit its report in two weeks.