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3 days ago
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The Centre for Fiscal Transparency successful Natural Resources (CFTNR) has applauded the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for its committedness to transparency, organization accountability, and afloat implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), pursuing a directive by the House of Representatives for OML18 Resources Limited to remit $4.02 cardinal to the Federation Account.
OML18 Resources, formerly Sahara Field Production Ltd, is among 45 lipid and state companies flagged successful the audit study and information presented by the NUPRC arsenic owing a combined $1.7 cardinal to the Nigerian authorities successful unpaid royalties, state flare penalties, and related liabilities.
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At the resumed proceeding of the House Committee connected Public Accounts connected Wednesday, chaired by Bamidele Salam, the committee directed OML18 Resources to remit $4.02 million, 20 percent of its confirmed debt, wrong 5 days. The institution was besides fixed 14 days to reconcile its afloat outstanding obligations with the plus relation and taxable a breakdown to the committee.
The directive followed confirmation by NUPRC that OML18 Resources owes $17.37 cardinal successful crude lipid royalties, $2.86 cardinal successful state flare penalties, and N173.7 cardinal successful state income gross — a indebtedness acknowledged by the institution during the hearing.
In a connection issued connected Saturday successful Abuja, Dr Halima Isa Lawal, Executive Director of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency successful Natural Resources, said the involution by NUPRC reflects a renewed seriousness successful the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, which aims to beforehand accountability and capitalist assurance successful Nigeria’s lipid and state sector.
“NUPRC’s actions are impervious that the reforms nether the Petroleum Industry Act are taking root. For years, Nigeria struggled with anemic oversight and opaque gross tracking successful the upstream sector. Today, we are opening to spot a caller epoch of regulatory assertiveness,” Lawan said.
“This is not conscionable astir recovering $4.02 million; it’s astir resetting expectations. Operators present recognize that obligations to the authorities volition beryllium enforced.”
She described the Commission’s data-led regulatory attack arsenic an illustration of however organization enactment can service the nationalist good, praising Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive of NUPRC, for driving sector-wide compliance without governmental interference.
“Under Engr. Komolafe’s leadership, NUPRC has shown that it is imaginable to uphold the regularisation of instrumentality successful Nigeria’s astir captious revenue-generating industry. The clarity, professionalism, and urgency with which the Commission is addressing outstanding liabilities merit commendation,” Lawal said.
“These efforts spell beyond conscionable figures; they reconstruct the credibility of our institutions and amusement some investors and citizens that transparency is not negotiable.”
Lawal besides noted that Nigeria’s existent fiscal outlook requires each dollar earned from the lipid and state assemblage to beryllium accounted for.
She called for adjacent stronger collaboration betwixt regulatory bodies, parliament, and civilian nine to guarantee sustained oversight and systemic change.
“In a clip of economical hardship and budgetary constraints, Nigeria simply cannot spend leakages successful a assemblage that accounts for implicit 70 percent of authorities revenue,” she said.
“What NUPRC has demonstrated is that with clarity of mandate and beardown leadership, regulatory agencies tin unafraid compliance and retrieve resources captious to nationalist development.”
Lawal further urged the National Assembly to proceed supporting agencies similar NUPRC by upholding their independency and encouraging timely implementation of audit recommendations.
“The House Committee connected Public Accounts has shown courageousness and resoluteness successful tackling this contented head-on. Their collaboration with NUPRC successful scrutinising these debts has proven effective, and we promote akin enactment crossed different sectors,” the connection added.
“Let this awesome a caller epoch wherever rules are enforced, not ignored; wherever compliance is rewarded, and wherever nonaccomplishment to conscionable statutory obligations attracts swift penalties.”
As Nigeria continues to reposition its lipid and state assemblage nether the PIA, stakeholders accidental NUPRC’s relation successful enforcing transparency volition beryllium important to achieving semipermanent economical resilience.
Lawal concluded by calling connected different lipid and state firms to reappraisal their ain records and prosecute proactively with regulators.
“This is simply a turning point. Companies should spot this not arsenic punishment, but arsenic an accidental to align with the caller standards. Transparency is nary longer optional — it is the aboriginal of Nigeria’s extractive sector.”
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Source: Legit.ng
