YAKUBU Dogara, has called for the repositioning of the oil sector to block all leakages and guarantee efficiency in its operations.
The Speaker, House of Representatives, made the call at a forensic investigation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) oil swap deals organised by the House Ad Hoc Committee.
The Speaker, who also called for more professional and efficient management of resources in the oil sector, stressed the need to expose abuses and losses recorded in the sector.
He added that “this is with a view to revitalising the sector and to make it more efficient and transparency-driven.
“The issue of transparency in the management of the oil sector, considering its significance to the economy of Nigeria, is at the very heart of our nation’s development challenge, especially at this time of dwindling revenue resulting from continued drop in oil prices.
“You don’t have to be an economist to observe that if we do not improve on the management of available resources and effective utilisation of oil/petroleum resources to drive the economy, our developmental aspirations will continue to emaciate.”
According to him, it is in recognition of this pivotal role which the oil sector plays in aiding development that the present House of Representatives especially places enormous emphasis on the improvement of the sector.
Dogara stressed the need for dealings in the sector to be transparent, professional and efficient.
He said “this is the only way the Change Agenda of this administration can be actualised.”
The Speaker said Nigerians had suffered difficulties due to abuses and inefficiency in the country’s oil industry, adding that it was hard to put in words the level of frustration Nigerians faced.
He, however, noted that “we have an opportunity now to right the wrongs of the past.
“It starts from thorough execution of this assignment.”
He then expressed the hope that the committee’s work and final recommendations would be an invaluable tool toward providing the sector with the right remedy needed to move forward.
He said “if we could pause to imagine for one moment what the effect of a vibrant oil sector driven by efficiency and innovation would mean to other sectors in the country, the implications and ramifications are immense.
“Indeed, the effects are enormous and therefore we cannot afford to fail Nigerians.”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Rep. Zakari Muhammed (APC-Kwara), said that revenues from the nation’s extractive industries should be transparently managed in accordance with global best practice to enhance Nigeria’s revenue and economic fortunes.
It would be recalled that the House had on June 24, 2015 considered a motion moved by Rep. Michael Enyong to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the refined oil product exchange contracts from 2010 till date.