By Sebastine Obasi

Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, OGFZA, has begun the process of implementing the federal government’s directive ceding regulatory control of all oil and gas free zones in the country to it.

In a letter dated November 17, 2016 and addressed to the Managing Directors of Snake Island Integrated Free Zone, SIIFZ and Lagos Deep Offshore and Logistics Services Limited, LADOL, which was obtained by Sweetcrude, the Chief Executive Officer of OGFZA, Umana Okon Umana said OGFZA has decided to carry out full implementation of the law which vests control of the oil and gas free zones in the country in OGFZA.

Umana, who said the take-over process would take 30 days from November 17, informed the managements of both LADOL and SIIFZ that “Henceforth their free zones will be licensed and regulated by OGFZA, by virtue of the statutory provisions in section 5(2) of the OGFZA Act and other relevant laws, as well as other directives of the government on the take-over of all oil and gas free zones in the Nigeria.

“The take-over process is to give effect to section 5(2) of the OGFZA Act, which states that the Authority shall have power to take over and perform such functions being hitherto performed by NEPZA as they relate to oil and gas from any of the export processing zones established by Nigeria Processing Zone Act.”

Umana explained that the Government White Paper on the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies dated March 2014, upheld the autonomy of OGFZA and confirmed the mandate of OGFZA to regulate oil and gas free zones in Nigeria.

According to him, in spite of the extant provisions of the law and government directives, compliance with respect to a number of oil and gas free zones regulations was not forthcoming.