Arguably, she is the most popular minister of the republic. And this has nothing to do with the fact that she is no doubt a delectable beauty but simply because she ‘mans’ the most strategic ministry in the country and that is the ministry of petroleum resources. This has put Diezani Alison-Madueke in the eye of the storm so to say. From barrage of attacks from those who feel her ministry riles with corruption to those who feel she is occupying that position simply because she is close to the president and not because of any spectacular qualification. In fact, the recent brouhaha over the Nuhu Ribadu Report on the management of the petroleum subsidy funds has further incensed traducers of the minister who believe that she was part of the conspiracy to rubbish the report even before it was submitted to the president.
Beyond questions on her official conduct are other questions that bother on her integrity both as a public officer and a mother and a wife. Recently, Sahara Reporters, an on-line news medium reported that the minister paid for two rooms in two separate high cost hotels in New York City, USA, during the recently concluded United Nations General Assembly. This, according to the report, was apart from other costly indulgences the minister and her aides engaged in during the trip. In fact, the report said the petroleum minister traveled from London to New York in a private jet.
While the public often swallows reports like this hook, line and sinker, the question is if the petroleum minister is such a reckless and indecent public officer who acts and behaves irrespective of what the public feels or the limitations of her office. Has it been all doom and gloom for the petroleum ministry since she assumed office having been redeployed from the ministry of mines and steel? Has there been no any remarkable achievement in the ministry since Diezani became the minister?
An Operator’s Testimony
Perhaps, one of those who are in the best position to answer these questions is Leemon Agbonjagwe Ikpea, who is the chairman of Lee Engineering Limited, one of the leading lights in oil service business in the country. He said he could not fathom the incessant criticisms the petroleum minister is subjected to all the time, considering her support for indigenous players in the oil and gas industry. He explained that he had never met the minister prior to their encounter when she came to inspect one of the projects his company was handling. I saw a totally different person from what the media have been painting her to be. I think she is a gift to this country and to Africa. She would not allow anybody to oppress Nigerian companies and she has encouraged the growth of Nigerian companies. With this encouragement we have been able to employ a lot of people and also give a lot of people scholarships. We have about 800 workers now. Because of her efforts and the efforts of the federal government, Nigerian companies are no more beggars of foreign companies.”
The PIB Bill
One of the things that have given players like Leemon Ikpea some leeway in the oil and gas industry is the Petroleum Industry Bill, otherwise known as the PIB. The bill is as controversial as the oil and gas industry itself. Successive governments have always found it difficult to handle and the reason for this is not far-fetched. The bill, if signed into law, will give greater control of the oil and gas industry to Nigerians. Certain aspects of the industry will be exclusive preserve of Nigerians and will also take some influence away from foreigners who have dominated the industry for decades. Quite as expected, the foreign oil companies have not found many provisions of the Bill funny. And they have been acting accordingly, albeit clandestinely. Impeccable sources close to the corridors of power insist these foreign interests have been doing all humanly possible to see that the bill does not see the light of day. Analysts believe the barrage of attacks on the person of the petroleum minister could be traceable to this. The reason being that the minister has been one of the major supporters of the bill. And a new final draft of the bill has now been sent to the National Assembly for consideration and approval. She is known to be a strong supporter of the bill and beyond that, some excesses of foreign oil companies are being curtailed from time to time.
“I won’t be surprised if the minister is paying the price of standing her ground that Nigerians should have greater say in the way the oil and gas industry is being controlled,” an oil and gas expert stated in Lagos during the week. “For once, this woman has insisted on transparency in the way the foreigners conduct their businesses and above all, the Petroleum Industry Bill, which is staunchingly being pushed pushing to be passed could never be in the interest of the foreigners. I would be surprised if they are behind these incessant media attacks. There was a time they said she bought a house in Vienna, Austria worth hundreds of millions of naira. This has been proved to be a pack of lies.”
Highlight of the infrastructure achievements
130km x 24inch Oben-Geregu completed and commissioned. Open gas access to the Geregu IPP, Dangote’s Obajana Cement and to the northern corridor.Also completed and commissioned is the 50km Ikpe Annang – Calabar pipeline opening up the Calabar axis to gas. With this pipeline the UNICEM cement plant and other industrial facilities in Calabar now have access to gas. The following three pipelines are also very close to completion; 104km x 24inch Escravos-Warri pipeline doubling capacity to 600mmcf/d and providing immediate access to 80mmcf/d of gas 24kmX24inch Itoki-Olorunshogo gas pipeline, providing a permanent solution to the challenge of gas supply to Olorunshogo power plants 30kmX24inch Imo River to Alaoji gas pipeline, providing a permanent supply source to Alaoji power plant.
Other ongoing pipeline projects include the 350kmX30inch Oben-Lagos pipeline doubling the capacity to 2bcf/d and creating a major expansion of supply to the Western Axis by end of the year and
The 60km Ubefan-Imo River pipeline reinforcing gas supply to the East by end of July 2012 Perhaps one of the most important infrastructure achievement is the recent award of the Obiafo/Obrikom-Oben East West gas pipeline contract, providing the much needed bridge between the high gas reserves in the East and the High demand in the west. The pipeline is due to be completed within 24 months. More importantly, one of the key strategies of government to create an enabling environment for private sector investment in gas infrastructure development. In this regard, good progress is being made towards a bankable framework for PPP initiative to fund other pipeline projects such as the Calabar-Ajaokuta and Ajaokuta-Kano pipelines. This PPP arrangement is expected to facilitate access to over $2bn and essentially enable the conclusion of the gas infrastructure backbone development. It is expected that this commercial framework will be concluded by the end of the year, creating a basis for private investors to invest in gas infrastructure Realizing. Nigeria’s aspiration for economic growth as a nation requires a robust gas infrastructure. The foregoing shows clearly the steady progress towards achieving this objective
More For Localy
If there is another area where Diezani Alison-Madueke has been pushing her weight, it the area of bidding for oil blocks. Apart from the transparency that has been brought into it, the minister is said to have insisted that more opportunities be given to indigenous oil and gas companies to participate in the bidding process and take their chances in the same process. Gradually, more and more Nigerians are getting into the capital intensive upstream sector of the petroleum industry.
Perhaps, one area where the minister has shown her love for her country is being able to persuade indigenous oil companies to try and buy into government’s drive to utilise the nation’s abundant gas reserves to generate electricity. In this regard, quite a few of them have signified their interest in the sector and have held productive meetings with top government officials in this regard.
She might be the most controversial minister but she could also have been passed as one of the most productive ones. Only if her traducers could see that to every coin, there are always two sides, and the two sides don’t always look the same. Alison-Madueke should be encouraged in her bold quest to reform the petroleum sector rather than raining abuses at her on a daily basis.
