PIB:FG Can’t  Claim Sole Ownership Of NNPC-Governors

The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has picked holes in the part of the Petroleum Industry Bill which puts the ownership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on the Federal Government.

They expressed the concern in a communique issued at the end of its 35th teleconference meeting on Wednesday, and signed by the chairman of the forum, Kayode Fayemi

 They also expressed support the unbundling and commercialisation of the NNPC, faulted the part of the legislation that places its ownership on the federal government.

Specifically, the bill provides  that the ownership of all shares in the incorporated NNPC shall be vested with the government, and the Ministries of Finance and Petroleum shall hold the shares on behalf of the government. The shares are not transferable.

But,the governors reasoned  that given that the corporation is owned by the three tiers of government, the new incorporated entity (NNPC Limited) should be owned by a vehicle that “holds the interest of the three tiers of government” –the institution that is currently positioned to carry out this mandate is the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

They also advocated the need for consensual action to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 in the country and implored on all state governors to revive their COVID-19 protocols and collaborate with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to take appropriate and immediate actions to flatten the transmission curve.

They approved a common template for the implementation of the Memorandum of Action signed with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASUN) on the implementation of financial autonomy for the State legislature and judiciary.

The governors  expressed  concern  over certain proposed amendments to the Principal Stamp Duties Act by the Nigerian Senate.

The amendment seeks to remove the powers to administer and collect stamp duties from the relevant tax authorities (Federal Inland Revenue Service or State Internal Revenue Service, depending on the nature of the transaction) to the Nigeria Postal Service.

The provisions of Section 163 of the 1999 Constitution requires that Stamp Duties on transactions between a company and an individual should be paid to the FIRS and returned to the State of derivation. The Forum resolved to engage with the National Assembly on the matter, NGF said.

On the sale of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Assets, the Forum said it will take a position on the planned privatisation of the assets listed by the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) without due consultation with State governments who are shareholders of the company.

NDPHC, they said, is incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act as a private limited liability company with shareholding fully subscribed to by the federal, state and local governments with a mandate to manage National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) in the country.