BY FRANCIS KADIRI, ABUJA
The Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society has called on the Federal Government to use Key Performance Indices enshrined in the roadmaps for the development of extractive industries to measure the progress made by participants in the implementation of the respective Road Maps For Growth And Development of the extractive sectors.
The NMGS is the umbrella professional and scientific organization for mining and mineral processing engineers, metallurgists and geoscientists in the solid minerals and oil and gas, water and the environment sectors of the Nigerian economy.
President of the Society, Professor Akinade Olatunji who made the call while delivering the investiture speech at a ceremony where he was installed 32nd president of the Society, in Ibadan on Saturday, said such an objective evaluation will enable government to sustain the momentum of reforms in the country’s extractive industry as well as give impetus to the realization of economic development goals.
“The new governments are still settling in at all levels, and the NMGS would love to urge them to keep the momentum of reforms in the key sector of the economy moving forward,” Olatunji said.
Discussing reform in the solid minerals sector, the professor of Geology stated: “At the Federal level, there is a Road Map for Growth and Development of the Mining Sector which was based on the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Acts 2007,” adding that there are enshrined Key Performance Indices in the document that can be used to measure the progress of all key participants in the implementation of the road maps.
He said it was time to evaluate progress made in the extractive industry.
While describing the road map as “a very robust and comprehensive document produced by panels of experts including members of the NMGS,” he said it showed clearly what our aspirations should be as a nation that wants to be taken seriously in the solid mineral sector.
“The NMGS is of the view that it is time to benchmark all that has been done in the last 10 years against the KPIs.
“We cannot continue to go down the road without assessing how well we are doing in implementing the key reform agenda for the sector.
“The assessment is necessary to allow for the corrections of missteps and strengthening of any weak link identified in the implementation.
According to him, “the necessary committees put in place to see that the road map succeeds should be allowed to function unfettered,” adding that the NMGS believes that a dedicated implementation of the road map will usher Nigeria into a serious mining destination and make the solid mineral contribution to the GDP significant with well-paying jobs created for the teeming young men and women in our country.
He explained that the potential in the sector is humongous and Nigeria needs to move away from a scavenging mentality to a scientific data-driven mining industry.
“The modicum of successes achieved in the sector so far is due to the determined efforts of our members heading key agencies at the federal level, who despite all the challenges have remained committed professionals who are devoted to make differences in their calling,” he said.
“We know they can do much more if the political backing is there for them to function,” he added.
Discussing reforms in the oil and gas sector, Olatunji noted that the celebration and excitement that greeted the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 was an indication that the sector was overdue for a thorough reform, stating that the PIA has unleashed a new set of vigour, energy and enthusiasm into the sector.
He said the NMGS is of the view that the PIA should be made to work.
While saying that there is no perfect law, he explained that deficient laws would be discovered when the laws are applied.
“We can only know the weaknesses when we use the law,” he said, adding that the identified shortcoming in the law can then be fixed and reinforced by appropriate amendments from the National Assembly.
“The NMGS is glad that the PIA is a great attempt to remove the opacity and inconsistencies that have characterised the oil and gas sector in the country in the last 20 years,” he added.
Discussing the challenges associated with oil theft, he said “as a Society, the NMGS is saddened that this has now attained the stature of a Frankenstein monster to the extent that the quantum of oil stolen now outstrip the quantum being sold legitimately.”
While calling for a holistic approach to curb the menace, he explained that increased security alone cannot address the challenge of oil theft, stating that there is need for host communities to have a sense of ownership of the assets in their land.
“The approach of applying tokens to communities who are aware of the humongous resources being carted away from their land does not engender patriotism and a sense of belonging, there must be strategic and deliberate actions directed at ensuring that the communities own or co-own these assets,” he said.
According to Olatunji, oil producing communities in Nigeria are overdue for a marshal plan that will transform them from the ghetto setting to the glamorous setting they have seen in cities built with money from their resources.
He argued that the amount of resources allocated to oil communities in the PIA is not sufficient to guarantee the kind of safety on investment that is required for the continuous survival and profitability of the oil and gas sector in the long run.
He said this is an aspect of the PIA that needs to be urgently amended otherwise the entire prospects expected of the Bill may be jeopardized, adding that stakeholders must think without the box to fix the problem.