The federal government is set to enforce the “drill or drop” provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), allowing it to reclaim idle assets abandoned by oil companies for extended periods.
Minister of state for petroleum resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed this at the Cross Industry Group (CIG) Meeting in Florence, Italy, where he engaged industry leaders on Nigeria’s energy sector challenges and opportunities.
“We cannot continue to have assets sitting idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If you are not utilising an asset, it neither adds value to your books nor to us as a country. We will take back these assets and allocate them to those willing to invest,” Lokpobiri said.
The move aligns with the terms set in Paragraph 2 of the Provisional Offer of Allocation Letter issued to beneficiaries. The affected properties span 33 states, including Delta, Cross River, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kano.
Permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr. Shuaib Muhammad Belgore, clarified that only recipients failing to meet payment obligations within the stipulated timeframe would be affected. Those who completed their payments by February 28, 2025, remain eligible to receive their Letters of Allocation and take possession of their assets immediately.
To ensure transparency, he said the ministry has published the full list of revoked allocations, detailing names, house locations, house types, and affected subscribers, on its official website. The list will also be released in Daily Trust, The Nation, and Leadership newspapers in early April 2025.
He advised affected individuals to visit the ministry’s headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja, or contact the director of public buildings and housing development for further inquiries.
The government reiterated its commitment to ensuring fair access to resources while enforcing compliance with allocation terms to enhance efficiency in asset management.
