The House of Representatives Committee on the South South Development Commission has criticized the federal government’s inability to operationalise two major financial provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The lawmakers revealed that the lapse has cost the Niger Delta between ₦1.27 trillion and ₦1.65 trillion meant for environmental cleanup and the decommissioning of ageing oil infrastructure since 2021.
Committee Chairman, Hon. Julius Gbabojör Pondi, said this on Tuesday during an interactive hearing at the National Assembly.
The session was convened to examine why the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund and the Environmental Remediation Fund have remained inactive more than three years after the PIA became law.
Pondi, who presented figures submitted to the committee, said the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund ought to have accumulated no less than ₦850 billion to ₦1.1 trillion, while the Environmental Remediation Fund should have received an estimated ₦420 billion to ₦550 billion” within the same period.
He described the prolonged delay as an outright denial of environmental justice.
He explained that the PIA was designed to ensure oil companies fully finance pollution cleanup and the dismantling of outdated infrastructure.
He said:“These funds exist so that Niger Delta communities no longer shoulder the devastating consequences of oil spills and degradation. Yet four years after the law came into force, the accounts are still empty, while farmlands are ruined, water sources remain poisoned, and entire communities struggle to survive.”
He also faulted the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), accusing it of showing a worrying level of institutional weakness in implementing the funds.
He said:“We cannot continue to operate in opacity. What is required is transparency, accountability, and swift action.If the current regulators cannot meet these obligations, the National Assembly may have to consider establishing a new agency dedicated solely to managing these funds.”
Reaffirming the committee’s stance, Pondi said lawmakers would intensify oversight to ensure host communities finally benefit from the PIA.
He added:“The National Assembly will not look away while environmental liabilities continue to build up and citizens bear the brunt,” he said. “The era of transferring cleanup responsibilities to already impoverished communities must end once and for all.”
