The Bill for an Act to amend the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Act, 2004 scaled second reading in the Senate. The Bill seeks to make the appointment of the General Managing Director of the NNPC subject to confirmation of the Senate; increase the contract approval limit of the GMD of NNPC from N5, 000,000 to N500, 000,000 or its equivalent due to the depreciating value of the Naira; and make it mandatory for NNPC to submit annual reports and audited accounts of its operations to the Senate not later than 3 months before the end of each financial year.

Leading the debate on the Bill, Sen. Ahmadu Abubakar (APC: Adamawa) stated that the bill, if passed, would improve accountability and allow for close monitoring of activities of the Corporation. He further explained that these amendments are in accordance with the principle of checks and balances recognized under the Constitution. For instance, making the appointment of the GMD subject to Senate’s confirmation, reinforcing the oversight powers of the National Assembly, thus, preventing financial recklessness by the Corporation.

The Bill has been referred to the Committees on Petroleum Upstream, Petroleum Downstream and Gas for further legislative input who are expected to report back in four weeks.