The Niger Delta Accountability and Resource Protection Network (NDARPN), an oil and gas watchdog, has denied allegations made by the House of Representatives Committee on the South South Development Commission that Nigeria has lost more than ₦1 trillion due to its inability to implement important Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) funds.
Comrade Ebikabo West, the head of the association, called the committee’s claims “sensational, misleading, and potentially damaging to the investment stabilization the PIA has steadily cultivated” in a statement released on Friday in Port Harcourt.
According to West, the PIA’s implementation by the relevant regulatory agencies has been more effective and transparent than any pre-PIA structure, especially when it comes to the handling of host community development funds and environmental requirements.
He cautioned legislators not to make partisan remarks that would “erode investor confidence or disrupt the delicate progress achieved so far.”
“To suggest that the Niger Delta has been denied trillions because the funds are not being operated in the dramatic fashion being portrayed is just false,” stated West.
“The PIA’s development provisions for host communities are being efficiently and closely monitored. With strong monitoring and accountability, the regulatory system now guarantees direct benefits to communities.
He claims that the PIA established enforceable commitments that regulators are currently monitoring with much more robust compliance measures.
The story of “non-implementation,” he continued, disregards observable advancements in environmental management and host communities.
“We have to be careful not to misrepresent regulatory procedures or turn environmental concerns into weapons.” West cautioned that such depictions erode the legitimacy of reforms and harm the group effort to achieve environmental justice.
Additionally, he emphasized that Nigeria is gradually regaining the trust of international oil corporations that left the nation because of years of unstable regulations, contradicting instructions, and institutional pressure that “strangled investment.”
Nigeria today enjoys a stable legislative and fiscal framework following decades of unpredictability. Allowing the relevant agencies to rigorously adhere to the PIA’s requirements while carrying out their missions is only prudent. The group continued, “Any attempt to entice them into political theatrics will jeopardize the gradual return of investor confidence.”
According to NDARPN, the National Assembly’s monitoring function is crucial, but it must be supported by facts rather than conjecture that could lead to misunderstandings or conflict in the industry.
Consolidation, not disturbance, is what the Niger Delta needs. Let the organizations that the PIA has enabled carry on with their work without excessive pressure. West suggested that this is the most reliable route to sustainable development, environmental preservation, and accountability.
