Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, ICPC, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, have pledged deeper cooperation to strengthen transparency, accountability and regulatory compliance in the country’s oil and gas industry.
The commitment emerged during a meeting between ICPC Chairman Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu and NUPRC Chief Executive Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan at the ICPC headquarters in Abuja.
Aliyu said stronger institutional safeguards were essential to protecting Nigeria’s economic interests and attracting investment to the upstream petroleum sector.
“Integrity in your sector is very important. We need investors, and if we are not transparent, it will be difficult for NUPRC to operate optimally,” he said.
He warned that corruption could thrive where systems and institutional safeguards remained weak.
Aliyu said both agencies needed to strengthen information sharing and mutual trust to improve anti-corruption enforcement.
He said ICPC could draw on NUPRC’s technical expertise when investigating cases involving the petroleum industry.
The ICPC chairman also urged closer cooperation on procurement and efforts to prevent waste and financial leakages.
He commended NUPRC for its performance in the ICPC’s Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS), describing the result as a sign of its commitment to ethical standards and institutional integrity.
“The cooperation is significant because the upstream petroleum sector remains central to Nigeria’s revenue, investment and energy outlook.”
Eyesan said the capital-intensive nature of upstream petroleum operations required effective regulation, strong governance and a stable investment environment.
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She described Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as a game changer intended to restructure the regulatory framework and improve investor confidence.
The law came against a backdrop of a significant decline in investment in the sector over the years, she said.
Eyesan also said NUPRC was working to unlock Nigeria’s gas resources while strengthening governance across upstream operations.
The regulator is reviewing qualification criteria for its regular bidding exercises after challenges involving some indigenous operators.
According to Eyesan, some successful operators lacked the financial and technical capacity to develop awarded assets. Disputes have also stalled the development of some petroleum assets.
ICPC to Join NUPRC Awardee Onboarding
Eyesan said NUPRC would hold an onboarding programme for successful awardees in October.
She said the regulator intends to involve ICPC in the programme to promote good governance, integrity and regulatory compliance among operators.
The initiative is expected to strengthen awareness of governance requirements among companies participating in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.
Eyesan thanked ICPC for its support and pledged continued collaboration between the two institutions.
She said NUPRC would continue sharing relevant concerns with ICPC to improve its operations and strengthen governance across the sector.
