The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, has promised that the judiciary will continue to live up to its constitutional mandate by correctly applying the law and proactively supporting the regulators in their bid to ensure growth and stability in the oil and gas sector in line with the rule of law.
Onnoghen gave the assurance in Abuja, while declaring open a two- day workshop for oil and gas matters for judicial officers, organized by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI).
Speaking further on the theme: “Enhancing the quality of judicial services in the petroleum sector”, Onnoghen tasked judicial officers in charge of courts to ensure speedy resolution of disputes which will in turn serve as an economic development mechanism, in order to win the confidence of investors and other major stakeholders.
The CJN, who lauded the Federal Government’s reform of the oil and gas sector, noted that the “passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), is an indication that the government is steering the oil and gas sector in the right direction.”
He added that the workshop which seeks “to highlight matters that are germane and critical to the ongoing reforms being experienced in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector,” was organised with the objective of keeping judges abreast with the role of the judiciary in ensuring mastery of the dealings in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
In his opening address, Bello Gusau, PTDF Executive Secretary said that the oil and gas sector was constituted by a network of legal relationships.
“This could be between the Nigerian State and International Oil Companies, between different partnering companies, between host communities and producing companies or even between suppliers and consumers of the products of the industry.
“As you very well know, adjudications on these relationships, more often than not, end up before your lordships. It is therefore imperative for judicial officers to keep abreast of the emerging
challenges regarding these relationships,” he said.
On her part, Roseline Bozimo, NJI Administrator who observed that the oil and gas sector contributes the largest share of revenue to Nigeria’s economy, harped on the need for modernization of the regulatory framework governing the industry in order to address emerging trends and threats that face the sector.
“Consequently, our judges need to be better acquainted with these developments in the oil and gas sector in order to better perform their adjudicatory duties. As society evolves, we must also continue to be dynamic in order to adequately address the conflicts that will inevitably arise,” she said.
