By Naomi Sharang
Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, nominee for Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission chief executive, has urged urgent stakeholder collaboration to rescue Nigeria’s oil and gas sector amid rapid global transition.
Eyesan spoke on Thursday during her screening before the Senate Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources, chaired by Sen. Kawu Sumaila.
She warned lawmakers that fragmentation and outdated processes were costing Nigeria value, revenues and relevance in an increasingly competitive global energy market.
“We must sit with our stakeholders and come up with enabling laws, regulations and policies to guide the industry,” Eyesan told the senators.
She said collaboration must go beyond rhetoric, stressing: “One of the core pillars for me is effective stakeholder collaboration.
“Working with critical stakeholders like the Senate, we can channel the industry in the right direction.”
She identified digital reform as urgent, saying: “Without real numbers, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.
“If you don’t have a digitised system in today’s operations, you are losing money and wasting money.”
Eyesan lamented missed opportunities, declaring: “We are leaving value on the table today while the world is transiting at jet speed.”
She questioned Nigeria’s paradox, saying gas wealth should end energy poverty. “We sit on over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas. It is unthinkable,” she said.
“How can we be impoverished, struggling with electricity, yet so richly endowed?” Eyesan asked.
She said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) remained central, adding: “The PIA is a valuable document. We must leverage it to achieve our objectives.”
Earlier, nominee for Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority chief executive, Saidu Aliyu Mohammed, also appeared before the committee for screening.
The nominations followed the resignation of the former chief executives of both agencies, prompting President Bola Tinubu to seek expedited Senate confirmation.
Explaining the urgency, Sumaila said: “The screening was conducted immediately due to the necessity and emergency nature of these appointments.”
He added that the committee’s report would be presented to the Senate on Friday. (NAN)