The Federal Government has set a dual reform agenda for Nigeria’s oil and agriculture sectors, prioritising transparency in upstream petroleum operations and expansion of agricultural production to drive food security and inclusive growth.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, outlined the priorities yesterday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Boards of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA).

Akume stated that the inauguration of the NUPRC Board signifies a renewed commitment to establishing corporate governance, accountability, and regulatory independence in the oil sector, in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

“As the apex governance body of the Commission, the board is expected to provide strategic oversight and ensure that Nigeria’s upstream petroleum resources are managed transparently and efficiently in the national interest,” he said.

He stressed that improved regulation remains critical to boosting investor confidence, optimising revenue generation, and strengthening Nigeria’s long-term fiscal stability.

“Members of the board, your charge is clear: uphold the highest standards of corporate governance, ensure accountability and transparency, and work constructively with management and stakeholders while maintaining regulatory independence,” Akume added.

The SGF noted that the board’s composition reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to competence, integrity, and professionalism, and expressed confidence that the members would advance the objectives of the PIA.

Turning to agriculture, Akume said the government is intensifying efforts to expand production and modernise the sector through the NALDA Board, describing the Authority as central to the administration’s food security strategy.

He tasked the Board with scaling up its programmes across more states, deepening the deployment of technology, and creating wider opportunities for youth and women in agriculture.

MEANWHILE, one of the country’s foremost policy groups, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), has said that the reform policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration have engendered high revenue earnings in the real sector of the economy.

In a policy brief by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, the think tank argued that companies in the productive sector have adjusted to the new policy environment, achieving higher yearly returns.

It said: “We have followed with concern the bewildering polemics with which Nigeria’s political opposition is deliberately scandalising the public space to demean the economic reforms being implemented by the President Bola Tinubu-led federal administration as ill-considered and inconsequential.

“From our standpoint, we surmise that the opposition’s propagation of bellicose intent against the Federal Government’s reforms lacks empirical validation and is generally pivoted on abysmal, commonplace, and sentimental generalisations.

“Contrary to the frequent public espousal of reform failure by the opposition, our reading of the national economic trajectory since 2023 strongly indicates otherwise. While we acknowledge the inevitability of some challenges inherent in the implementation of any body of reform policies, we assert that the Tinubu policies have, in significant ways, accomplished the first purpose of a sovereign’s economic rejuvenation: the resuscitation and strengthening of the real sector of the economy.”