Nigeria loses $15bn for non-passage of PIB, says Kachukwu

Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Ibe Kachukwu, on Wednesday, said Nigeria was losing $15 billion (about N2.95 trillion) annually due to non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Kachukwu, who made this known while being screened by the Senate for ministerial appointment, said the petroleum industry would perform better if the bill was passed.
He, however, said that absence of the proposed law would not hinder operations in the industry or proposed reforms and restructurings in the sector.
“We lose over $15 billion a year as a result of non-existence of petroleum industry law; so, I will urge this senate to pass those elements of PIB where there are no much contentions.
“However, I will not be constrained by lack of PIB, so we will continue to make changes using existing laws.
“So, whether the PIB is passed lies with the legislature, not the executive,’’ he said.
Kachikwu noted that the problem with the bill was not the version, saying “so, I would not be interested in creating a new version, but just make changes to what is available.
“We may need to break it down. For instance, why do we have to have a fiscal regime in the PIB rather than leaving them to tax laws so that it can move according to the market forces?”.
He said that the prices of crude since the introduction of PIB had changed and that meant that the bill would be reviewed in line with the changes and fluctuations.
The NNPC boss expressed optimism that with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, the oil sector and NNPC would be restructured to minimise the cost of operation.
“NNPC spends more than the annual budgets of five Nigerian states and that is why we need to address the issues.
“That is why we have downsized and restructured the leadership but the problem is not just the leadership but the staff and the subsidiaries.
“We will start looking at the subsidiaries from next week,” he said.
Kachukwu clarified that contracts cancelled was to ensure that they served the best interest of the Nigerian people, adding that revoked contracts were the suspicious ones.