The Buhari Administration and Economic Governance: Assessing Progress of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)

This report assesses the progress of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) under the Buhari administration, detailing the long history of legislative failure in reforming Nigeria's oil and gas sector. It examines the transition from the original PIB to the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), the economic costs of regulatory uncertainty, and the proposed structural changes to the industry's governance and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

• The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has faced a prolonged history of failure in the Nigerian parliament since the inauguration of the Oil and Gas Reform Committee on 24th April 2000. Despite multiple drafts presented under the Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, and Jonathan administrations, the bill stalled due to disagreements over oil profit sharing among international oil companies, host communities, and the federation, as well as conflicting stakeholder interests.
• Regulatory uncertainty caused by the non-passage of the PIB has resulted in significant financial losses for Nigeria. Experts estimate losses as high as $120 billion over the first eight years the bill languished in parliament, averaging $15 billion annually, as investments were diverted to more predictable climates. Additionally, a 2013 NEITI audit found that $10.4bn and N378.7bn were lost or under-remitted due to theft, inefficiencies, or the lack of a clear fiscal regime.
• Nigeria's refining capacity is severely insufficient to meet domestic demand. According to 2016 OPEC statistics, Nigeria refines only about 3% of its crude oil production, with a refining capacity of 445,000 b/d, while local demand is approximately seven times the volume of locally refined products.
• The Buhari administration introduced the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) to streamline the original PIB. The PIGB aims to clarify the roles of the government and the Petroleum minister, eliminate multiple regulatory entities by establishing a new regulatory commission, and unbundle the NNPC into three commercial entities: the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated (MOPI), the National Petroleum Company (NPC), and the Nigerian Petroleum Assets Management Company (NPAMC).
• The PIGB proposes a significant reduction in the discretionary powers of the Petroleum minister. It removes the minister's power to make regulations (vesting it in the Petroleum Regulatory Commission) and removes the minister's exclusive power to grant, amend, renew, extend, or revoke licenses and leases, making such actions dependent on the Commission's recommendation.
• The PIGB increases financial penalties for failing to comply with the minister's directives regarding rights of pre-emption. Fines that were previously 2,000 Naira and 200 Naira have been increased to 2,500,000 Naira and 5,000,000 Naira, respectively.
• The oil and gas sector is critical to Nigeria's economy, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the country's exports (and foreign exchange earnings) and 70 percent of government revenues used for development spending.

APA

Good Governance Africa (n.d.). The Buhari Administration and Economic Governance: Assessing Progress of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/23.01-PIB-Final-Draft_OB-final-reviewd-7April.pdf

Chicago

Good Governance Africa. The Buhari Administration and Economic Governance: Assessing Progress of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). n.d. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/23.01-PIB-Final-Draft_OB-final-reviewd-7April.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Good Governance Africa |title=The Buhari Administration and Economic Governance: Assessing Progress of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/23.01-PIB-Final-Draft_OB-final-reviewd-7April.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{goodgovernanceafricandbuhari, author = {{Good Governance Africa}}, title = {{The Buhari Administration and Economic Governance: Assessing Progress of Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2020/01/23.01-PIB-Final-Draft_OB-final-reviewd-7April.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }