Oil & Energy

MoniPulo Empowers 70 In Akwa Ibom

Published

5 years ago

July 19, 2021

A total of 70 indigenes of Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, host to an indigenous oil firm, Moni Pulo Petroleum Development, have benefited from the 2021 community empowerment programme of the company.
The empowerment programme, which is in the 12th cycle, saw to the distribution of 70 motorcycles to the benefiting members of the host communities.
Speaking, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Moni Pulo, Dr. Seinye O.B. Lulu-Briggs, said the company has had a very healthy relationship with the people of Mbo LGA and has left positive footprints since 1999.
Lulu-Briggs said the company believes that provision of an economic-enabling environment, sustainable employment, secured opportunities and human capital development in Mbo LGA, remain the guiding principle for social transformation.
She emphasised that the company has a passion for transforming communities and catalyzing personal and communal growth in a sustainable manner, which is why corporate social responsibility is her cherished core corporate value.
“MPLs Corporate Focal Responsibility package is structured along four core areas: Educational Development, Skill Acquisition and Empowerment, Infrastructural Development, Sports and Social welfare.
“It is believed that capacity building will ameliorate the Niger Delta region’s economic challenges and reduce the incidences of youth restiveness. Thus, MPL takes this gesture further to empower Mbo and Effiat Community youths with high class motorcycles.
“This is the 12th cycle of our Community Empowerment Programme, and it is designed to empower 70 business Start-Ups from within Mbo Local Government Area in Akwa lbom State.”
Lulu-Briggs represented by the Head pf Administration and Community, Alabo Clifford Daerego, said MPL’s empowerment programme provides opportunites for entrepreneurs to set up and establish businesses that will help increase the employment rate in Akwa lbom State and in the country.
“A review of the social responsibility projects we have carried out in Mbo Local Government Area, reveals that our activities have aligned with the current global Sustainable Development Goals. This Community Empowerment Programme hinges on SDG Goal 8, which is to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Despite the socio-economic challenges that we, like everyone else, have had to weather, we have continued to invest in the wellbeing of our host communities through empowerment exercises and sustainable development projects. We have done and will continue to do this because we know that ultimately our work is about people the men, women, youth and children of Mbo and Effiat.”
Also speaking, Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Power and Petroleum Development, Dr. John James Etim, who commended Moni Pulo for being a good corporate citizen, expressed delight to witnessed the empowerment programme.
Etim disclosed that upon his assumption of office, he was briefed that the company has trained many members of her host communities in several skills and also awarded university scholarships to many.

Oil & Energy

NERC, OYSERC Partner To Strengthen Regulation

Published

5 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

THE Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has stressed the need for strict adherence to due process in operationalizing state electricity regulatory bodies.

It, however, pledged institutional and technical support to the Oyo State Electricity Regulatory Commission (OYSERC).

The Chairman, NERC, Dr Musiliu Oseni, who made the position known while receiving the OYSERC delegation, emphasised that the establishment and take-off of state commissions must align fully with the law setting them up.

Oseni said that the NERC remains committed to partnering with State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERC) to guarantee their institutional stability, operational effectiveness and long-term success.

He insisted that regulatory coordination between federal and state institutions is critical in the evolving electricity market framework, noting that collaboration would help to build strong institutions capable of delivering sustainable outcomes for the sector.

Also speaking, the Acting Chairman, OYSERC and leader of the delegation, Prof. Dahud Kehinde Shangodoyin, said that the visit was aimed at formally introducing the commission’s acting leadership to the NERC and laying the groundwork for a productive working relationship.

Shangodoyin said , the acting members were appointed to provide direction and lay a solid foundation for the commission during its transitional period, pending the appointment of substantive members.

“We are here to formally introduce the acting leadership of OYSERC and to establish a working relationship with NERC as we commence our regulatory responsibilities,” he said.

He acknowledged NERC’s readiness to provide technical and regulatory support, particularly in the area of capacity development, describing the backing as essential for strengthening the commission’s operations at this formative stage.

“We appreciate NERC’s willingness to support us technically and regulatorily, especially in building our capacity during this transition,” he added.

Oil & Energy

NLC Faults FG’s 3trn Dept Payment To GenCos

Published

5 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Association of Power Generation Companies have engaged in a showdown over federal government legacy debt.

NLC president Joe Ajaero has faulted the federal government’s move to give GenCos N3 trillion from the Federation account as repayment for a power sector legacy debt, which amounts to N6.5 trillion.

In a statement on Thursday, Ajaero said the Federal Government proposed the N3 trillion payment and the N6 trillion debt as a heist and grand deception to shortchange the Nigerian people.

“Nigerians cannot and should not continue to pay for darkness,” Ajaero stated.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, APGC, Dr. Joy Ogaji, said Ajaero may be ignorant of the true state of things, insisting that the federal government is indebted to GenCos to the tune of N6.5 trillion.

She feared the longstanding conflict could result in the eventual collapse of the country’s power.

According to her, the federal government’s N501 billion issuance of power sector bonds is inadequate to address its accumulated debt.

Oil & Energy

PENGASSAN Rejects Presidential EO On Oil, Gas Revenue Remittance ……… Seeks PIA Review

Published

5 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

The Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria(PENGASSAN) Festus Osifo, has faulted the public explanation surrounding the Federal Government’s recent oil revenue Executive Order(EO).

President of the association, Festus Osifo, argued that claims about a 30 per cent deduction from petroleum sharing contract revenue are misleading.

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, last Wednesday, February 18, signed the executive order directing that royalty oil, tax oil, profit oil, profit gas, and other revenues due to the Federation under production sharing, profit sharing, and risk service contracts be paid directly into the Federation Account.

The order also scrapped the 30 per cent Frontier Exploration Fund under the PIA and stopped the 30 per cent management fee on profit oil and profit gas retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

In his reaction, Osifo, while addressing journalists, in Lagos, Thursday, said the figure being referenced does not represent gross revenue accruing to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

He explained that revenues from production sharing contracts are subject to several deductions before arriving at what is classified as profit oil or profit gas.

Osifo also urged President Bola Tinubu to withdraw his recently signed Presidential Executive Order to Safeguard Federation Oil and Gas Revenues and Provide Regulatory Clarity, 2026.

He warned that the directive undermines the Petroleum Industry Act and could create uncertainty in the oil and gas industry, insisting that any amendment to the existing legal framework must pass through the National Assembly.

Osifo argued that an executive order cannot override a law enacted by the National Assembly, describing the move as setting a troubling precedent.

“Yes, that is what should be done from the beginning. You can review the laws of a land. There is no law that is perfect,” he said.

He added that the President should constitute a team to review the PIA, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and forward proposed amendments to lawmakers.

“When you get revenue from PSC, you have to make some deductibles. You deduct royalties. You deduct tax. You also deduct the cost of cost recovery. Once you have done that, you will now have what we call profit oil or profit gas. Then that is where you now deduct the 30 per cent,” he stated..

According to him, when the deductions are properly accounted for, the 30 per cent being referenced translates to about two per cent of total revenue from the production sharing contracts.

“In effect, that deduction is about two per cent of the revenue of the PLCs,” he added, maintaining that the explanation presented in the public domain did not accurately reflect the structure of the deductions.

Osifo warned that removing the affected portion of the revenue could have operational implications for NNPC Ltd, noting that the funds are used to meet salary obligations and other internal expenses.

“That two per cent is what NNPC uses to pay salaries and meet some of its obligations.The one you are also removing from the midstream and downstream, it is part of what they use in meeting their internal obligations. So as you are removing this, how are they going to pay salaries?” he queried.

Beyond the immediate impact on the company’s workforce, he cautioned that regulatory uncertainty could affect investor confidence in the sector.

“If the international community and investors lose confidence in Nigeria, it has a way of affecting investment. That should be the direction. You don’t put a cow before the horse,” he added.

According to him, stakeholders, including labour unions and industry operators, should be given the opportunity to make inputs at the National Assembly as part of the amendment process saying “That is how laws are refined,”