Hundreds of angry protesters took over parts of Abuja on Saturday, demanding that the National Assembly immediately withdraw the controversial National Commission for the Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI) Bill, 2024.
The demonstrators, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Kill This Bill”, “Stop the Waste,” and “No More Feeding Bottles for Politicians,” accused lawmakers of plotting to create another bloated agency that would drain public funds and undermine existing oil sector reforms.
‘A wasteful and dangerous proposal’
The protest, which began early in the morning around the Central Business District and later converged near the National Assembly, was led by members of the Energy Reforms Advocates of Nigeria (ERAN) — a coalition of energy activists and civil society groups.
Addressing journalists, ERAN’s Executive Director, Comrade Abba Henry, described the proposed commission as “a poisoned dagger aimed at the heart of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).”
“Nigeria is broke. Our debt is choking us. Yet some senators want to birth a brand-new commission that will swallow billions just to watch old pipes rust,” Abba said.
He argued that the country already has the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) — both of which have the legal and technical capacity to handle the decommissioning of oil facilities.
“Why create a third referee when the field already has two?” he asked.
‘Investors hate chaos’
The activists warned that creating the NC-DOGI would only duplicate functions, sow confusion, and scare away investors from Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
“One agency will approve the plan, another will supervise the cutting, and the third will fight over who collects the contractor’s kickback,” Abba said. “Investors hate chaos. They will simply take their dollars to Ghana.”
He reminded lawmakers that the Petroleum Industry Act — passed after two decades of debate — was still being implemented and should not be destabilised by new bureaucratic structures.
“The ink is still wet. Don’t tear the book to add a new chapter nobody asked for,” he warned.
‘Kill this bill or face the people’
ERAN unveiled a new slogan — “Kill This Bill” — as part of a nationwide campaign to resist the legislation. The group vowed to flood the National Assembly with petitions, hold live-streamed town halls across oil-producing communities, and challenge the bill in court if necessary.
“Nigerians are awake. We will name and shame every senator who votes for this money-guzzler. History will record their greed,” Abba said.
In a direct message to the leadership of the National Assembly, the ERAN director issued a blunt warning:
“Do not keep it alive. Do not smuggle it. Do not rename it. Bury it today so Nigeria can breathe tomorrow.”
