President Muhammadu Buhari has again received commendation for signing the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, twenty-twenty-one into law as passed by the National Assembly.
This is because, his assent has ended the long jinx which has seen the PIB delayed since the early twenty hundred.
According to Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria, the new Petroleum Industry Act may not be a perfect document but no law anywhere in the world is a finished product, saying it is a good way to start, after decades of groping in the dark in the oil industry.
It says President Buhari has broken the jinx on many fronts, this is a clear demonstration of the will of a leader, determined to do the right thing, saluting the President’s forthrightness and his courage to lead Nigeria aright.
Its twenty-eighth President, Council Chairman, Taiwo Owokalade, gave the commendation at a news briefing in Lagos, where he said the move would open up the oil and gas sector, allow transparency and world global best practices.
According to him, the Petroleum Industry Act is a welcome development as it would help give direction to the country’s oil industry, giving room for accountability and sustainable growth.
Owokalade commended the Buhari government for having the will power to sign the Petroleum Industry Bill into law after many years of neglect by successive governments.
He said the Act, which factored in rewards of host communities, was a supportive step and showed the willpower and consideration of government.
Owokalade, however, charged host communities to create a structure that allows transparency of both collection and usage of funds to improve the outlook and lives of the community, as the act which is a revolution needs to be commended for government’s willpower to be able to pull through.
For him, it is topical and supportive to recognise that where a resource is found, the community is factored into the sharing of the proceeds and this would become a normal stand, not just for oil but for other natural resources.
He calls for proper governance structure, transparency and proper assessment to calculate and ensure the funds are used to impact the communities.
Owokalade also advised the state governments to build up their human and natural resources toward engendering self-reliance and more economic viability.
On the tax war between the Federal Government and some states government, Owokalade enjoined states to take a cue from Lagos and River states on value added tax, VAT, and start looking at how to re-project themselves towards readdressing the reality and reaching self-sustenance.
He described the controversies surrounding the Value Added Tax collection between some States and the federal government as unnecessary.
Owokalade insisted that the Federal High Court has said within the states, any consumption tax is a tax for the states to collect, and therefore, there shouldn’t be any bickering on that.
He stated that the issue didn’t just have to do with the Rivers state government, “Lagos state some years back also got a court judgment to that effect but didn’t follow it up until recstate got a similar judgment.
According to him, the FIRS going to the National Assembly to seek more powers over the issue is an effort in futility.
“True Lagos and Rivers account for over 70 percent of the VAT collected in the country. Let other states also look inward to build their tax bases. Lagos is what it is today because successive administrations in the state developed its human capital. Other states can replicate that.
“If your strength is in agriculture like some states in the north, develop that aspect, and if it’s natural resources endowment, develop it well to position your citizens. Everybody is coming to Lagos because of the development here, who says Ekiti, Niger, or Kogi cannot do the same?
“This idea of depending on federal allocation for survival by federating states will only encourage laziness. Let every State develop its potential,” he added.
He said states should start looking at how to re-project themselves towards readdressing the reality on ground.
According to him, going through the exclusive list, VAT is basically a sales consumption tax that should sit with the state and for whatever reason in the past, the federal government took it up and it became a federal thing and is now being shared among states government.
He said states collection of Value Added Tax, VAT, might stop inter-state migration of Nigerians.
“So, maybe it will help us even distribute the population on the right places because many migrated to Lagos because they think Lagos is much more prosperous. We need to put in place those methodology that will ensure that other states are much more viable,” he said.
Owokalade said there is no states in the country that is not endowed but what we have created for ourselves as a nation is that we have allowed the easy way out to run our lives and that is the place we have found ourselves.
“ For instance, there are several states in America that never had natural resources but they depend on human resources to make a meaning out of their lives and this is the same thing that we should start looking at.
“And for us as an institute, we would not shy away from addressing all these fundamental issues. We want to be part of the solutions to the problems of Nigeria and reconfigure the nation on the right path without looking at sentiment, emotions and tribal factors but focusing on the best thing to do for this nation.” Owokalade said.