No loss of jobs over PIA 2021 implementation in Nigeria, says Minister

*We have already made provisions in the law to ensure that no job is lost in the oil industry as a result of the Petroleum Industry Act ─Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Following President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of the Steering Committee for the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, Chief Timipre Sylva, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has assured workers that no jobs will be lost in the activation process in Nigeria.

ConsumerConnect had reported President Buhari had Monday, August 16, 2021, signed the bill, thus providing a legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, development of host communities, and related matters in the downstream sector of the country’s country.

A couple of days after the bill was signed into, the President approved the Committee to immediately commence the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Oil and Gas facilities in Niger Delta 

Chief Sylva heads the Steering Committee, which has 12 months for the assignment.

Subsequently, it was gathered though there are fears in some quarters over the fate of workers in the petroleum sector, Sylva during an interview on Channels TV, monitored in Lagos, Wednesday, August 18, however, noted that the move to implement the PIA Act would rather create more jobs for Nigerians.

The Minister said: “We have already made provisions in the law to ensure that no job is lost in the oil industry as a result of the PIA.”

“So, no job will be lost as a result of the Petroleum Industry Act. All jobs in the petroleum industry will be intact.

“That was already taken into account, we discussed with Labour extensively in the process of drafting the bill.”

On the benefits for the Nigerian oil workers, Sylva stated that he believes the workers have more to gain, since the government does not pay as much as the private sector of the economy.

According to him, the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will be beneficial to the workers, and the move would not create any problem at all.

In connection with the funds accruable to the Federation Account by the national oil firm, the Minister disclosed that the money will still be disbursed to the national account.

He, however, explained that NNPC would not be in charge of the federation crude.

Instead, he said that the Offstream Regulatory Commission will sell the crude and remit the money to the nation’s account.

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