The House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and the Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft on Tuesday unveiled plans to introduce five bills aimed at addressing key challenges affecting Nigeria’s oil industry.
Speaking on behalf of the joint committees in Abuja, Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa explained that the proposed bills are part of a legislative intervention designed to support national efforts in securing oil and gas assets and curbing crude oil theft.
According to Doguwa, one of the bills seeks to establish a National Commission empowered to prevent and prosecute pipeline vandalism and other oil sector-related crimes.
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“The committees, and indeed the entire House, are deeply concerned about the increasing insecurity and criminal activities around oil-producing areas. This intervention is a legislative response intended to complement government efforts in protecting these critical national assets,” he said.
Hon. Ado-Doguwa further explained that the two committees—Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and the Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft—share a similar jurisdictional focus, particularly on crude oil production and export.
He said: “In my view, these two committees essentially deal with the same core issue: crude oil. While one focuses on theft and security, the other covers drilling and export processes. That’s why we’ve decided to meet jointly and work together on these legislative proposals,” he noted.
Hon. Ado-Doguwa added that one of the proposed bills, initiated by the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and championed by the Speaker of the House, seeks to establish a commission to oversee the decommissioning of oil assets—an issue that has raised concerns among host communities and industry stakeholders.
“The decommissioning process is a major policy priority of the current administration, but there are gaps in oversight.
That’s why the Speaker and other House leaders have shown interest in backing legislation that provides statutory authority and a legal framework for a commission to manage this process, while also ensuring the interests of host communities are taken into account,” Hon. Ado-Doguwa said.
He further explained that each of the five bills under consideration will be sponsored by different committee members but will collectively be presented as committee-driven legislation to reflect the collaborative effort and seriousness of the intervention.
“These bills will bear the names of different committee members, but they are not individual efforts.
They represent our collective commitment to addressing challenges in the sector and fulfilling the expectations of the leadership, government, and the Nigerian people,” he noted.