Akpan Umoh, Uyo
The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC) is seeking an urgent amendment of sections of the Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) that are inconsistent with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution(As amended).
The commission stated this in a communique issued yesterday at the end of it’s two-day retreat with the theme: “Petroleum Industry Act(PIA) 2021 and it’s Impact on Petroleum Revenues” which held at the Ibom Icon Hotel, Uyo Akwa Ibom state.
The communique signed by the Acting Chairman of the commission, Umaru Faruk Abdullahi also called for judicial and legislative action to interpret aspects of the PIA that are deemed inconsistent with the 1999 constitution.
According to the RMAFC, the operating surpluses accruing from the operations of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority(NMDPRA) as provided in the PIA 2021 should be remitted into the Federation Account and not the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
It also said that the shareholding of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd(NNPC) ltd should be clearly defined to reflect the three tiers of government namely federal, state and local governments.
The communique stated in part that, “to achieve the anticipated revenue increase into the Federation Account with the creation of NUPRC, NMDPRA and NNPC Ltd, RMAFC should intensify it’s monitoring function by procuring and deploying the required infrastructure and human capacity”.
RMAFC also recommended that a closer collaboration between it and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should be sustained to achieve the realization of the new tax regimes in the PIA 2021.
“To achieve and sustain the expected increase in revenue earnings under the PIA stringent operational policy regime should be put in place by government.
“Government and relevant agencies should continue to harness the huge potentials in the gas sector. The underutilization of gas locally require renewed effort by government.
“Government should as a matter of urgency find lasting solutions to the issue of insecurity in order to attract a investors in the petroleum industry”, the communique stated.