PIB BILL: Timipre Sylva As A Jinx Breaker

“The best path is the one that’s no there because we are in the process of creating it.” - Craig D. Loungsbrough

When in the year 2000, President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration constituted the first Oil and Gas Reform Implementation Committee (OGIC) to recommend a policy for reforming the petroleum industry, stakeholders were optimistic a new dawn beckoned for the country’s ailing oil sector.

This initiative produced a report which after being redrafted several times has morphed into what is now known as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). However, for close two decades, Nigerians have been fixated on the horizon as the sun refused to rise on the PIB effectively casting large clouds of uncertainty and across Nigeria’s Petroleum landscape.

This was until the unenviable task of midwifing the controversial bill and nurturing it to maturity fell to the current Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva: the Opuabadi, the Creek Boy, the Man with the Midas touch or whatever appellation endears him to you.

When Sylva was appointed in 2019, he unveiled a roadmap for the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector pivoted on two main components: gas development and aggressive promotion of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.With his experience as a former Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Petroleum in 2004, coupled with his stint as governor of one of the largest oil-producing states in Nigeria, Sylva was under no illusion of the difficulty of the task that lay ahead.

The PIB has outlived four Presidents and at least five Ministers of Petroleum, it has been a constant piece of legislation at six successive National Assemblies and also possesses more than its fair share of conspiracy theories. Many had come to conclude it would never see the light of day. It simply could not be done.

However, it is a philosopher, Matshona Dhliwayo that said “if records refuse to be broken, shatter them” and that is exactly what Sylva has done.On July 1, 2021, history was made when under cohesion from Sylva, the two chambers of the National Assembly ended the litany of broken promises to Nigerians with the unprecedented passage of the PIB.This means that in less than 24months since his appointment, Sylva, working in synchrony with industry stakeholders, host communities and the Legislature has advanced the PIB to its final stages and in so doing, emblazoned his name in gold in contemporary Nigerian history.

For a critical policy document that aims at revamping the regulatory framework of Nigeria’s petroleum industry, the delay in its passage has avoidably set Nigeria back several decades.Thankfully with this important breakthrough, the industry will witness an increased level of transparency and accountability, while offering new fiscal incentives to investors and restructuring how energy projects in Africa’s largest crude producer are operated and funded.

While it is tempting to relax and relish the moment, the job is far from complete as it is instructive to note that President Buhari is yet to give his assent that will transmute the bill into law. This last hurdle will undoubtedly prove to be an additional test of Sylva’s political sagacity and much-touted influence.In addition, there is massive resistance from vested interest. Yet it appears the more the resistance, the more Sylva is determined to forge ahead.Never being the one to back down from challenges, it was Sylva who in the wake of militancy in the Niger Delta stuck out his life at great peril by traversing the most dreaded militant camps in the creeks to peach the message of peace which culminated in the Presidential Amnesty Programme

A man of many first, Sylva’s repertoire of pioneering achievements seems to grow with every appointment and call to service. Recall that he was one of the youngest candidates to contest and win a seat in the House of Assembly election representing Brass constituency in old Rivers State in 1992.

Furthermore, by 2008, Sylva had been elected Governor of Bayelsa State at a record age he didn’t stop there. He became the first governor to sign a state government. His administration also pioneered the launch of the Bayelsa Expenditure and Income Transparency Initiative (BEITI) and pass laws to support transparency. The BEITI mandated government to give full disclosure of its expenditure. It is therefore expected that his brave tendencies of sailing uncharted waters will give him the impetus to achieve further exploits.

Alluding to the significance of this achievement, Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), commended Timipre Sylva for his impressive leadership and on-going contributions in guiding Nigeria’s energy industry into the future. Also speaking, the leadership of the National Assembly, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the bill was passed for the growth and development of the Nation’s Oil and Gas Industry.

On his part, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Malam Kyari, noted that the PIB would provides a win-win scenario for the host communities, investors and operators in the Nation’s Oil and Gas Industry.With the rise of other attractive petroleum industries in Africa (Angola, Ghana, etc) and the global transition to cleaner energy and renewable, the unanimous passage of the PIB by the National Assembly may be a little late, but it’s better late than never.While it is arguable that no bill in Nigeria has been thoroughly scrutinized, publicized and analyzed as the petroleum industry bill, the task that lies ahead is to harmonize the discordant voices that have risen since the PIB was passed and ensure that the fine details are addressed and unanimously acceptable.

As he proceeds to consolidate his efforts, Sylva must not lose sight of his obligations across the spectrum of the industry encompassing implementation of the National Gas Expansion programme, development of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7, promotion of cleaner energy alternatives, and entrenching transparency and accountability in the Nigerian national oil company among others.

For this resilient son of the Niger Delta the ovation is loud, however, it is not yet time to take a bow. Judging by the indices available so far, the journey has actually just begun. Investment to the state.But today, Sylva is acknowledged as the political leader of the Ijaw people. How he will handle this heavy responsibility as he takes charge of the polity of his people will say a lot as the political situation in the country.His case is made more difficult since he has to be the leader of a people who are scattered over six states – Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom.

For a man with great political ambition this is undoubtedly a daunting task. This may be the reason why he is being prevailed upon to contest the presidency in order to complete the second tenure of the Niger Delta. to be the leader of a people who have never had a common leader because of their republican nature is indeed a hard task.

This agenda is being pushed by some persons who see the larger than life political image of Sylva in the national political field as it affect his people. Since his dramatic emergence as the leader in the political equation in Bayelsa state. The enemies have been at work. Although Sylva is yet to announce his intention to contest for the presidency, the mere mention of his name sends jitters to the spines of his perceived opponents and the blood of his enemies boiling and braying for war.

But like it was with President Muhammadu Buhari at the height of the 2015 when all sorts of blackmail were employed to bring him down, Sylva has continued to soar. But if there’s something most political leadership in the state agreed upon is the forgiving spirit of Sylva.

Indeed, Opu-Abadi, the mighty Ocean has paid his dues and contributed immensely to the development of the Niger Delta Region in particular and Nigeria in general.