Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been derided by critics as inept and indecisive on the economy, with some giving him the nickname “Baba Go-Slow.”
Yet the 77-year-old is on the cusp of an achievement that no other democratic leader of the country has managed: A radical overhaul of the all-important oil industry.
After 20 years of debate and delays, Nigeria’s parliament is soon expected to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill. That could pave the way for a stake sale in the national crude company and allow the price of gasoline to be determined by the market. The move may also provide some environmental protection to communities near oil facilities.
The need for reform is glaring. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. for decades has been a hotbed of corruption and inefficiency, restraining an industry that accounts for about 90% of export earnings. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, still needs to import motor fuel due to a lack of refining capacity.
The bill may be just a set of proposals, but it’s a strong statement of intent by Buhari, who has made clamping down on graft a tenet of his rule. Cleaning up the NNPC and improving transparency are good ways to attract much-needed investment to an economy battling the worst contraction in at least a decade.
“This is easily the most important thing the legislators have discussed since the end of military rule in 1999,” said Antony Goldman, founder and chief executive officer of Promedia Consulting, a political risk advisory firm. “It’s a landmark moment.”
– Bloomberg