Stakeholders under the auspices of Energy Reforms Advocates of Nigeria, ERAN, have kicked against the National Commission for the Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations, NC-DOGI, Bill, 2024.

The bill seeks to establish the National Commission for the Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations, NC-DOGI.

At a press conference during the weekend, ERAN Executive Director, Comrade Henry Abba, faulted the bill, describing the proposed commission as “another feeding bottle for the boys” and “a poisoned dagger aimed at the heart of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)”.

The stakeholders insisted that the proposed commission will not serve any useful purpose, but instead, would lead to monumental waste of scarce resources.

Abba noted that the commission would lead to needless multiplication of the agencies for an assignment that is already being carried out by various Federal Government establishments.

He said, “Nigeria is broke. Our debt is choking us. Yet some senators want to birth a brand-new commission that will swallow billions just to watch old pipes rust.

“We already have the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

“They have the staff, the laws, the labs, and the muscle to decommission any platform from Bonny to Forcados. Why create a third referee when the field already has two?”

The stakeholders warned that NC-DOGI will only breed confusion, scare investors, and open fresh avenues for corruption.

“One agency will approve the plan, another will supervise the cutting, and the third will fight over who collects the contractor’s kickback. Investors hate chaos. They will simply take their dollars to Ghana,” Abba said.

He stressed that the PIA, signed only four years ago after twenty years of labour, is yet to be fully implemented.

“The ink is still wet. Don’t tear the book to add a new chapter nobody asked for,” Abba added.

Calling on the National Assembly to “kill this bill’, the stakeholders said they will flood the National Assembly Complex with petitions, livestream town hall meetings in every oil community and drag the bill to court if it nears passage.

“Nigerians are awake. We will name and shame every senator who votes for this money-guzzler. History will record their greed,” Abba declared.

“Do not keep it alive. Do not smuggle it. Do not rename it. Bury it today so Nigeria can breathe tomorrow,” the stakeholders added in a direct message to the National Assembly leadership.

Stakeholders oppose proposed Commission for Decommissioning Oil, Gas Installations