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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has thrown its weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s reforms in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, describing them as a quantum leap into the future while demanding greater representation for Niger Delta professionals in top roles.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, PANDEF‘s National Chairman Godknows Igali, singled out the appointment of Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as a masterstroke.
“This particular appointment could be described as putting a square peg in a square hole,” Igali declared, praising Eyesan as one of Nigeria’s most competent professionals in the oil and gas sector, while extending similar acclaim to Saidu Mohammed’s appointment as CEO of the Nigerian Mid-Stream and Downstream Regulatory Authority.
PANDEF urged Tinubu to go further by elevating more Niger Delta indigenes into NNPC leadership – where the country has the highest number of experienced professionals in the sector.
PANDEF also revived calls for modular refineries in the region, referencing a 2018 government pledge.
“Government had committed itself to setting up a Modular Refinery Development Fund, similar to the Solid Minerals Development Fund.
“This must be urgently looked into and encouraged as a way of carrying more host communities along in implementing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), creating more economic activities in the Niger Delta and ensuring that the sector has greater stability for the overall good of the country,” Igali said.
