NUPRC, Komolafe Stopped Capital Flight, Investor Distrust With PIA Implementation – Group

The Nigeria Oil and Gas Integrity Forum has applauded the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for its “critical and patriotic role” in ensuring the successful implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), a law widely regarded as a turning point for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

The forum’s president, Vivian Okorafor, who said this, emphasised that the PIA’s passage would have had little impact without the “visionary, competent, and firm regulatory leadership” shown by the NUPRC under the guidance of Engr. Gbenga Komolafe.

“The PIA was a monumental achievement, but the real success story is what followed. Without the solid and transparent enforcement of the law by NUPRC, we would still be grappling with regulatory uncertainties, capital flight, and investor distrust.

“Today, because of strong leadership at the NUPRC, Nigeria’s upstream sector has regained the confidence of both local and international investors,” the statement read.

The forum also praised Komolafe for creating a regulatory environment that promotes growth instead of serving as a bureaucratic bottleneck. It noted that under the NUPRC’s leadership, key investment indicators in the sector have shown steady and positive progress.

“In the past, regulatory opacity drained our oil industry of investments. But the NUPRC under Engr. Komolafe has reversed that trend. Transparent bid rounds, clear licensing processes, and streamlined procedures — these have restored faith in Nigeria’s petroleum sector and placed us on a competitive global footing once again,” Okorafor said.

She also highlighted the Commission’s focus on promoting Nigerian content and encouraging indigenous companies, saying these steps were crucial for broad-based economic development.

“One of the quiet revolutions happening under the NUPRC is the deliberate empowerment of indigenous operators. For the first time in decades, we are seeing more Nigerian companies participating actively in the upstream space, thanks to policies that favour transparency, merit, and homegrown expertise,” she said.

The forum further applauded NUPRC’s introduction of digital platforms that have simplified regulatory compliance, boosted efficiency, and reduced corruption in the oil and gas sector.

“Technology is now being deployed smartly to plug leakages. Licensing, reporting, and monitoring are now largely digital, making it difficult for underhanded dealings to thrive. This is part of the transformational thinking that the NUPRC leadership has brought into the regulatory ecosystem,” she added

NUPRC, Komolafe Stopped Capital Flight, Investor Distrust With PIA Implementation – Group is first published on The Whistler Newspaper