14/07/2026
MY SPEECH AT THE ONGOING 2026 BOARD STRATEGY RETREAT OF THE NIGERIAN UPSTREAM PETROLEUM REGULATORY COMMISSION (NUPRC)
Distinguished Senators, Members of the National Assembly here present, Particularly my brother, Senator Jonah Williams Abel, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil); My brother, Senator Heineken October Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas); Members of the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC): Engineer Sunday Bala, Engineer Paul Jezhi, Mrs. Patience Oyekunle, Our indefatigable CCE, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Engineer Mustafa Monday Lamorde, Dalhat Mohammed Kamal, Alhaji Bashir Indabawa, Alhaji Mohammed Sabo, and our Secretary, Mrs. Olayemi Adeboyejo;
Upon my appointment as Chairman of this Board, I learned that I would be working alongside some incredibly brilliant women with beautifully complex names—one of whom is the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen.
Executive Directors and Management of the NUPRC,
Our Guest Speakers,
Industry Leaders here present, Gentlemen of the Press,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Expressing Our Gratitude
First, on behalf of the Board, Management, and staff of the NUPRC, I want to express my sincere appreciation to everyone who has taken time out of their demanding schedules to attend this strategic retreat. Thank you very much for your presence and dedication.
A great deal has already been articulated, and I will not weary you by repeating what my predecessors have established. I entirely align myself with the insights shared by previous speakers. However, it is imperative that the Board of the NUPRC, as an institution, seizes the opportunity of this gathering to send a clear message to Mr. President and the nation: we are fully committed to our mandate. We will execute our roles in a progressive manner that adds visible value, strategically supporting and empowering the Commission to meet the high expectations of the Nigerian people.
The Strategic Importance of Timing
I have often said that the future belongs to those who understand time. You may possess every resource and advantage in the world, but if you do not understand timing, those advantages can be squandered, never to be regained. Timing is everything. Doing the right thing is important, but doing the right thing at the right time is the ultimate key to success.
Anyone with a fundamental grasp of global geopolitics understands that energy drives the world. The security and prosperity of every nation are inextricably tied to its capacity to provide secure, affordable, and sustainable energy within its borders. In today's landscape, oil meets much of that criteria. However, for some of the world's largest consumers, relying on imported oil is neither secure nor sustainable.
For nations like China, India, Germany, Japan, and a host of others who lack domestic primary oil production, energy dependence represents a significant vulnerability. Consequently, their transition to renewables and alternative energy sources—which they can produce and control domestically—is an existential security necessity, not just an environmental one.
Navigating the Energy Transition
Global markets are not merely shifting away from fossil fuels due to global warming; they are racing toward energy independence. Eventually, technological breakthroughs will deliver cheaper, more accessible alternatives. Just as the Stone Age did not end for a lack of stones, and the whale-oil era ended before whales were extinct, the oil age will inevitably transition. When that happens, fossil oil will lose the bulk of its economic leverage.
Advanced alternatives will power cars, fly planes, and drive industries. Oil will still exist—just as coal still exists in Enugu—but the global rush by superpowers and multinationals like ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, Renaissance, Sahara Energy, or Chinese state corporations to extract it will fade because the premium market value will be gone.
This is why timing is everything. Nigeria must seize this moment. We possess vast oil and gas reserves, and we must extract and monetise them during this window of peak global value. We must deploy that wealth immediately to build the structural foundations of industrialisation, infrastructure, and economic prosperity for both present and future generations.
We are fortunate to have a leader in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who deeply understands the urgency of maximising national opportunities when they yield the highest return. Driving along the coastal road yesterday further solidified my conviction that we have a President who not only understands fiscal mechanics but also recognises the transformative power of executing major national projects at the right time.
A Unified Vision for National Rebirth
This strategic retreat comes at a pivotal moment. Every government ministry, department, and agency aligned with the President's vision recognizes that Nigeria’s greatness can no longer be delayed or denied. Today, Mr. President is implementing bold, decisive policies and taking pragmatic actions that should have been executed decades ago.
Currently, oil remains the primary driver of our foreign exchange earnings, and our national budget is benchmarked against its price. However, just as consuming nations are racing to escape the oil trap, Nigeria must race to optimise its production before alternatives dominate. We must extract our reserves and, following the blueprint of forward-thinking energy economies in the Middle East, rapidly transition our economy toward tourism, advanced manufacturing, and mechanised agriculture—shifting our national budget from a reliance on barrels to a robust tax base driven by domestic productivity.
When viewed through this lens, Mr. President’s reforms across power, infrastructure, taxation, and the oil and gas sectors emerge not as isolated policies but as a single, synchronised national rebirth designed to fundamentally redirect the future of our country.
From Acreage to Production
As the apex regulatory body, the NUPRC sits at the very heart of these energy sector reforms. The success of our regulatory framework forms the bedrock of Nigeria's broader economic growth. We owe a debt of gratitude to the visionary leadership driving this reform, led by Mr. President, our Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources, the Special Adviser on Energy, the leadership at the NNPC, and our own Commission Chief Executive (CCE). The impact of these changes is already generating increased production, greater regulatory clarity, and renewed investor confidence across the industry.
This strategic board retreat—held in this serene environment and aptly themed “From Acreage to Production”—captures our entire mission in four words: bring out every single barrel of oil and monetise it today while global demand remains high.
To achieve this, the Board, Management, and staff must confront critical institutional questions during this retreat:
• Operational Efficiency: How do we streamline our internal processes to become more agile, responsive, and efficient?
• Technology & Data: How do we fully leverage cutting-edge technology and data analytics to drive our oversight and enforce compliance seamlessly?
• Host Communities: How do we capitalise on the distinct provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to transition host communities from adversarial stakeholders into active, committed partners in shared prosperity?
• Value Chain Optimisation: How do we enforce a value chain that delivers tangible benefits to the domestic economy, resulting in gas-powered homes and industries that can compete globally?
• Investor Confidence: How do we continuously improve and sustain investor trust in the Nigerian upstream sector?
• Regulatory Consistency: How do we ensure that our regulations are fair, predictable, and transparently enforced across the board, applying the exact same rules to every industry player?
• Environmental Sustainability: How do we balance aggressive production with environmental preservation, ensuring future generations inherit the blessings of our natural resources without the attendant ecological degradation?
CONCLUSION
Most importantly, how can this Board best perform its governance role? We must provide clear, strategic policy direction and uphold world-class corporate governance standards. Our frameworks must protect the interests of our true shareholders—the Nigerian people—while balancing the needs of management, staff, and our international and local industry partners through strict accountability, transparency, and ethical management.
This retreat is designed to forge credible, actionable answers to these questions. I am confident that we will leave this retreat with a definitive roadmap of enduring value for our industry and our country.
Thank you all for your attention, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Senator Magnus Abe
