TheNewsGuru

Tag: Mele Kyari

  • NNPC positions to lead Africa in energy transition

    NNPC positions to lead Africa in energy transition

    …seeks transition that addresses poverty

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has said it is positioned to lead Africa in energy transition.

    Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of NNPC, Malam Mele Kolo Kyari made the disclosure on Monday.

    Kyari made the disclosure at the 30th Convocation Ceremony of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria State.

    According to him, the Corporation has set the necessary machinaries in motion to lead Africa in transition to low-carbon energy and renewables.

    He noted that the corporation is deepening natural gas utilization under the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP).

    Kyari said NNPC is currently extending natural gas infrastructure backbone from Ajoakuta in Kogi state to Kano through Abuja and Kaduna under the AKK Gas Pipeline Project.

    Besides, he said this mega pipeline will be fed by both Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) and and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipelines through Oben node in Edo State and deliver 2bscf of natural gas to power plants and industrial off-takers along Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.

    Continuing, he said as a National Oil Company and a global player, NNPC is ready to shift to renewable energy.

    The GMD dropped the hint that “We are taking firm position in this transition by institutionizing the necessary enablers for success.

    “NNPC has established a Renewable Energy Division and has completely transformed the NNPC R&D Division to NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation as Energy Company of Global Excellence.”

    He said NNPC welcomes beneficial relationship with academia and industry experts who demonstrate capacity for productive research and innovation in the energy sector.

    According to him, oil will remain very much relevant in the global energy mix of today and the future .

    Kyari however noted that as transition to cheaper energy gains momentum, especially across the developed countries, oil companies must continuously improve operational efficiency and reduce their costs to remain on the playground.

    Earlier in the presentation, he said Africa is especially endowed with abundant sunshine that can support massive development of renewable energy enough to put Africa on the map of energy sufficient regions of the world.

    Kyari said attaining this vision will require substantial finance which may have to come from diverse sources globally.

    He added that it will also require speedy execution of power infrastructrure and related projects faster than the peak oil window.

    Considering the financial stretch required to transit at the same pace with the rest of the world, Kyari said “what Africa needs is energy transition that addresses energy poverty across the continent and supports the use of comparative and cheaper available energy resources in Africa.”

    He said this will guarantee affordable and reliable energy for rapid industrialization and improvement in the economic well-being of the people.

    The GMD said in view of the situation, oil is needed to continue to guarantee energy flow to industrialized regions and revenue and taxes to oil producing countries like Nigeria as renewable energy technology evolves.

  • PIA provides enormous business opportunities for NNPC Ltd – Says Kyari

    PIA provides enormous business opportunities for NNPC Ltd – Says Kyari

    As the Federal Government commenced full implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in earnest, the new legislation has been tipped to provide business opportunities that will enable the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) earn more revenue for the country.

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Mallam Mele Kyari disclosed this while addressing staff of the organisation in a townhall meeting held at the NNPC Towers, at the weekend, with staff outside the Corporate Headquarters (CHQ) participating virtually.

    Highlighting the significance of the PIA to the NNPC and by extension the Nigerian economy, Mallam Kyari said the new legislation has raised shareholders’ expectations on the company, even as it has given it a wide room to make progress.

    According to the CEO, the PIA had put “all money-making options on the table; it is up to us to take advantage of it”.

    He said as a result of the new legislation, NNPC Ltd would not only shed some of its toxic liabilities but will be the largest and most capitalised company in the whole of Africa and, potentially, the most profitable on the entire continent.

    The CEO charged employees of the organisation to ensure the company becomes a commercially viable entity and a multi-billion-dollar company that will continuously deliver value to its shareholders–the over two hundred million Nigerians.

  • NNPC allays fear over fuel scarcity

    NNPC allays fear over fuel scarcity

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has allayed fears of any hitch in petroleum products supply following reports of resurgence of queues in some parts of the country.

    Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, NNPC, gave the assurance while speaking at the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) 2021 Strategic International Conference on Tuesday in Lagos.

    The conference had as its theme: ‘Petroleum Industry Act: Energy Transition and the Future of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas.’

    Kyari said NNPC’s objective was to provide energy security for Nigeria and ensure availability of petroleum products in the country.

    He said: “As we speak now, there is speculation of fuel scarcity within the media but we have over 1.7 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit in the country.

    “We have another 2.3 billion litres coming in so there is no shortage in supply as being speculated.

    “Of course there are issues about pricing at some depots but government has no plan to revise the pricing structure.”

    Kyari said the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, again highlighted the challenges faced by Nigeria and other African countries in the global energy transition.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari, in his speech before the world leaders, had demanded for energy justice for the continent and the need to exploit the available resources as a pathway
    to attain the net-zero carbon objective by 2050.

    The NNPC boss noted that though Africa accounted for only about three per cent of the global carbon emission, the continent still had the responsibility to join the world in combating climate change.

    According to him, Nigeria has identified its abundant gas resources as its fuel for energy transition, which informed the declaration of the Year 2021 to Year 2030 as the Decade of Gas by the government.

    Kyari said: “We are making good progress in terms of the implementation of the PIA which is clearly creating the path for transition.

    “There is no way we can achieve this feat without adequate infrastructure to transport the resources to where it will be used and that is why we are investing in massive gas infrastructure.”

    He said the projects included the Obiafu-Obrikon-Oben (OB3) and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipelines, which would deepen gas utilisation in the country.

    Also, Mr Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary, NCDMB, said the passage of the PIA had opened a vista of opportunities for the industry.

    Wabote, represented by Mr Tunde Adelana, Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, NCDMB, said the implementation would impact positively on local content development and host communities.

    He added that it would also stimulate the much-needed investment to the oil and gas industry.

    Earlier in his address of welcome, Mr Olu Phillips, Chairman, NAEC, said statistics showed that more than 100,000 people died annually in Nigeria as a result of indoor inhalation of waste gases.

    Phillips said this informed the global energy transition, adding that the Nigerian government was responding with the focus on optimal utilisation of the country’s gas resources.

  • Petrol queues will normalize in hours – NNPC GMD

    Petrol queues will normalize in hours – NNPC GMD

    The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has frowned at the re-emergence of petrol queue across the country, assuring that the situation will normalize in hours.

    Kyari gave the assurance when he addressed State House correspondents after giving an update on the petroleum sector to President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.

    He attributed the sudden re-emergence of the fuel queue to strike action embarked upon by the association of petrol tankers drivers.

    The GMD, however, revealed that following the intervention of the leadership of the NNPC, the strike had been suspended for one week and the tanker drivers had resumed lifting of petroleum products from all fuel depots across the country.

    He said: “These queues will go away. It’s because there was an industrial action by petroleum tanker drivers against their employers, the National Association of Road Transport Owners, around their compensation package.

    “And those issues were not resolved up till yesterday, until we intervened to ensure that there’s an amicable settlement between the parties so that they will have peace and then normal loading operations will commence from the depots.

    “As I speak to you at this moment, loading has commenced in all depots in the country, dispatches of trucks are ongoing in all the depots in the country and they have called off the strike for a period of one week to enable us intervene and find a solution.

    “So, there’s really nothing fundamental that is happening now.”

    Kyari further stated that the petrol queues had nothing to do with the ongoing issue of petroleum subsidy.

    “Subsidy is a policy matter. I’m sure you’re aware of this. There are engagements going on within the government to get the best framework for having a fully deregulated PMS market.

    “As this is going on, we are engaging all parties and all stakeholders as government and to make sure that at the end of the day, there’s an exit that is beneficial to the ordinary man.

    “That is why we know we will not be able to complete that in the month of May and therefore, we declared that there will be no increase in fuel price.

    “I have no update in hand now. This is beyond me, but we’re engaging to make sure that we have the right timeline,’’ he added.

    On the impact of the rising crude oil price on the corporation, the GMD said it has both benefits and drawbacks.

    “You know, it works both ways. Once prices increase, your revenue also increases.

    “So, I don’t have any numbers around it, but I also know that your obligation to the price of petroleum increases and your net revenue also increases.

    “There’s a balancing factor. I don’t think there’s anything much to worry about,’’ he said.

  • We need $10 billion to build new refinery in Nigeria – NNPC

    We need $10 billion to build new refinery in Nigeria – NNPC

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said a whopping $10 billion is needed to build a new refinery in the country, far beyond the $1.5 billion earmarked for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Mele Kyari, NNPC Group Managing Director, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while engaging newsmen on issues emanating from the proposed rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery approved by the Federal Government last week.

    Kyari further elaborated on the sum, stressing that to construct a refinery the size and nature of the Port Harcourt refinery in the country, it will cost the federal government around 7 billion dollars and 12 billion dollars.

    He, however, stressed the country does not have the financial muscle now to build a new refinery going by the economic situation of the country.

    He also said that the country would have to live with importation of petroleum product, especially Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), for another four years if the country ventures into building a new refinery.

    “We have people saying why not build a new one; why will you repair an old refinery with 1.5 billion dollars? The fact is available even by Google search, what it takes to build a refinery of this status today.

    “It will be difficult for the country to build a new refinery as it will take four years for it to commence production. It is around 7 billion dollars and 12 billion dollars to construct a refinery of this nature (Port Harcourt refinery).

    “This is the estimate you see in public space and there are things you do outside the construction battle-limits like the utilities that are never accounted for when estimates of this nature are done.

    “Typically, there is an additional 25 per cent cost for construction battle-limits, so, when you say a refinery can be built at 7 billion dollars or even 10 billion dollars, also think of that 25 per cent.

    “With today’s estimate, you cannot build a refinery at any cost below these amounts, that means that the option you have is to scrap this and build a new one, and we all know that we don’t have that resource.

    “If we start a new refinery of this nature today, it can’t work in less than four years, therefore, it means we will continue to import petroleum products in the next four years or more,” Kyari said.

    According to him, the country did not do well in maintaining the refineries in the past 25 years as the last turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt refinery happened 21 years ago.

    He noted that the huge cost of rehabilitation of the refinery witnessed in this present time was as a result of poor maintenance of the plant over a period of time

    “What we are seeing today is the cumulative effect of our lack of doing proper maintenance over a period of time but something has changed today and this is why we are proud to tell Nigerians that we have done something different in the background.

    “This is because we have a government that allowed us to play our role without interference in terms of our procurement exercises and this made the process go unhindered.

    “This has also allowed us to involve every stakeholder including NUPENG and NEITI, to ensure openness and accountability of the process,” Kyari said.

    We are doing rehabilitation, not turnaround maintenance – NNPC

    Meanwhile, on Monday also, elaborating on the Port Harcourt refinery, Kyari explained that the 1.5 billion dollars approved for the refinery was for complete rehabilitation and not turnaround maintenance.

    Kyari said that the refinery would work in optimal capacity at the completion of rehabilitation programme.

    “We are not doing turnaround maintenance, we are doing rehabilitation of the refinery, and it is very different; it means that we are replacing certain major components.

    “We are introducing some items that ordinarily we won’t need to do in turnaround maintenance and there are major shift in the status of the plant that we have to do and it is not done during turnaround maintenance.

    “During rehabilitation, by the 18th month, part of this plant will begin to produce particularly the gasoline plants.

    “In rehabilitation, we normally don’t shut down the plant completely, we repair a segment of it, and then it starts working, and then, you move to the next segment.

    “You continue to scale up and that is why, within the four-year period, the contractor would have completely left your premises.

    “What it means in a technical sense is that in 18 months, we will see production coming from that plant; we will follow it plant by plant until we are completely done,” Kyari said.

    The NNPC GMD also said that the process of rehabilitation started about 10 years ago but was slowed down due to a number of mistakes that occurred along the line.

    He, however, noted that an Italian company had been contracted for the job with one billion dollars financing arrangement from the Afreximbank.

    “This process started 10 years ago and a number of mistakes happened leading to the enormous delay we have seen in this process because there were a lot of interferences in the past but these are gone.

    “Initially, we thought that the best way to go was to go to the original builder but it wasn’t the right strategy.

    “Another way of making this project work was the introduction of borrowing for the repair work because when you borrow, the lenders will put conditions and one of the conditions is that it should be maintained under ‘own and earn’.

    “This means that the NNPC will not operate this plant as a basic requirement of the financing institution. The financing partner will ensure that the contractor will work efficiently.

    “Importantly is that the contractor O&M gave a guarantee that the facility will operate for the duration of the loan and the fact the project will be done under a financing structure supported by Afreximbank.

    “The bank has promised a 500 million dollars loan in the first instance and additional 500 million dollars making it one billion dollars and the condition is for the loans to be repaid from the operations and proceeds of this plant,” Kyari added.

    He expressed optimism that the refinery would work optimally for the next 15 years after the rehabilitation.

  • Clear fiscal framework will enhance gas development – Kyari

    Clear fiscal framework will enhance gas development – Kyari

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has called for a legislative framework with clear fiscal terms in order to tap the full potential of the gas resources in the nation’s deepwater acreages.

    The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, made the call at a one-day public hearing on “Inclusion of Gas Terms in Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs)” organized by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Gas Resources, Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream).

    A press release by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the GMD as saying that investors needed clarity on fiscal terms to be encouraged to commit their capital for gas development projects.

    He stated that a functional legislative framework that provides a clear sight on how investors can recoup the capital on investment and make gains is what the Petroleum Industry Bill was all about, adding that the passage of the Bill would help resolve issues of fiscal terms in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC).

    He explained that the PSC agreements were focused mainly on crude oil production leaving the gas development component to the discretion of the parties thus making the provision in PSC for development of gas was very weak.

    “The PSC simply says the parties can sit down and agree on a framework for monetizing the gas on terms that are mutually acceptable,” he noted, stressing that a gas pricing mechanism was urgently needed to drive gas development.

    He noted that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources under the leadership of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, was aggressively driving gas pricing policy as part of the Federal Government’s gas commercialization initiative.

    Speaking earlier, the Speaker of the House of Representative, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said the Joint Committee on Gas and Petroleum Resources was set up in November 2019 to help resolve issues hindering the efficient development and utilization of the abundant natural resources in the country.

    He said the public hearing was convened to enable the Committee collate the views of stakeholders for a thorough review of the statutes.

    In his address, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Hon. Nicholas Mutu, listed the mandate of the Committee to include: working with stakeholders to review the existing PSCs with a view to accommodating fiscal terms for gas; liaising with the NNPC, DPR and other relevant agencies to determine the current situation in the gas sector with the aim of proffering solutions to attract investors and grow the economy, and providing amendment to current PSCs for further legislative action.

    The public hearing attracted stakeholders in the oil and gas sector including public institutions, local and international oil companies and civil society organizations.

  • Why Nigeria’s refineries are not operational – NNPC GMD

    Why Nigeria’s refineries are not operational – NNPC GMD

    The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari has given reasons why the nation’s refineries are not operational.

    Kyari made the submission when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Upstream on Thursday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

    The GMD appeared before the committee at a 2021 Budget Defense hearing, where he defended the Corporation’s 2021 Budget.

    Kyari speaking before the committee said NNPC deliberately shut down the nation’s refineries because they no longer make sense to be operated.

    He said that the NNPC was unable to supply crude oil to the refineries, adding that it was only the Escravos pipeline which the NNPC managed to sustain through contracting process.

    According to him, it is practically impossible to run pipelines at their optimum capacity.

    “For instance, to run Kaduna and Warri refinery, you need to deliver 170,000 barrel of oil per day so that both will operate at 70 per cent capacity,” he said.

    Kyari said that at the moment, it only had over 5,000 kilometers of pipelines with 13 fuel depots, which according to him must be protected to forestall the activities of vandals.

    “And I can tell you today that except the Atlas cove to Ibadan line and also the Portharcourt to Aba line, none of these pipeline is serviced.

    “We cannot flow product into these lines, the cheap one is to say they are aged but the real reason is that the level of activities of vandals on these lines is gross, monumental and profound.

    “At every point within a month we fix 80 vandal points, the option is to shut them down and the result of having one depot is what we have seen in Lagos,” he said.

    The GMD said that the activities of vandals made it impossible for pipelines to be operated, adding that from January to June it had lost petroleum product close to N43 billion.

    Kyari said that to protect the pipelines, the NNPC had to engaged the service of security agencies to curtail the activities of vandals.

    He urged the House of Reps to urgently pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), adding that the passage would encourage investors in the sector.

    Kyari said that by the end of December there would be hope for the Petroleum sector, adding that the NNPC would declare dividends to the Nigerian people.

    He promised to run the corporation with transparency and accountability adding that the NNPC had published its audited report of 2018 and 2019, which according to him had not happened before.

    Meanwhile, the NNPC under Kyari received commendation from the committee for breaking new grounds in its commitment to transparency and accountability.

    The committee commended the Management of NNPC for defending the Corporation’s budget at the National Assembly in a timely manner.

    Chairman of the Joint Committees, Hon. Musa Sarki Adar gave the commendation.

    “We have the GMD and his management team here to defend their budget, we appreciate this. We have witnessed what this parliament has never seen before, I stand to be corrected,” Adar remarked.

    The Chairman who said he was initially skeptical about the GMD’s TAPE agenda, explained that he was beginning to see its positive impact through the GMD’s performance so far, adding that Kyari has done a lot for the country within a short time.

  • ‘Why it’s difficult to entrench change in NNPC’

    ‘Why it’s difficult to entrench change in NNPC’

    Najim Animashaun, a Policy Adviser and Lawyer, has given an insight as to why it is difficult to entrench the culture of change in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Animashaun gave the insight on Friday during a Twitter conference with the theme: “Reforming NNPC towards operational efficiency and commercial effectiveness”, hosted by the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC).

    He was speaking against the backdrop of how the NNPC has been able to stay committed to Transparency, Accountability, Performance and Excellence (TAPE), and how effective the national oil company has been able to sustain these practices in culture and in law.

    The Policy Adviser and Lawyer stated that passing a new law will work if it is linked to organizational reform like the one being pushed by the current Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari.

    He further stated that the NNPC GMD and management have so far followed up on their promises, stressing that published audited accounts for 2018 are very revealing and that it is a product of TAPE.

    “However, every aspect of TAPE has a human resource component as well as an organisational structure and function one,” Animashaun stated, adding that “GMDs are perceived as political appointees” and that “20 GMDs in 42 years makes it difficult to entrench change initiatives in organisational culture” for the NNPC.

    Speaking on recommendations for the reform of the national oil company, he stated that the NNPC needs to learn from Petrobras and Equinor, the national oil companies of Brazil and Norway, respectively.

    Meanwhile, the NNRC had earlier in a statement pointed out that the NNPC falls short on different counts when benchmarked with similar national oil companies.

    “Comparing Norway’s Equinor and NNPC, performance records show that Equinor’s three refineries averaged 92.8% capacity utilisation in 2018 while NNPC’s three refineries recorded 11.21%.

    “A 2015 comparison of average refinery capacity utilisation in the USA of 90.98% and Nigeria of 4.88% is even worse.

    “Unless NNPC’s refineries can operate at minimum 90% capacity they will continue to lose money.

    “In the area of revenues accruing to government, NNPC’s performance compared to Petrobras (of Brazil), or Petronas (of Malaysia) shows gross inefficiency.

    “Even when benchmarked with similar national oil companies in Africa such as Sonatrach of Algeria and Sonagol of Angola, the NNPC still falls short on different counts,” the non-profit policy institute stated.

    TNG reports over the years, NNPC has consistently underperformed against the NNRC’s global best practice benchmark for optimal national oil company performance.

    The benchmark prescribes that national oil companies be ‘accountable’ to their citizens and government, with ‘well-defined mandates and an objective of commercial efficiency’.

    The NNRC called on the FG to use the opportunity provided by the prevailing socio-economic situation nationally and globally to embark on complete overhaul of the country’s oil and gas sector, in particular the NNPC to make it both competitive and productive in line with international best practices.

    According to NNRC, “holistic improvements across the NOC will ‘require clear and appropriate decisions and role of the NOC and how it is financed, corporate governance systems that limit political interference and allow for efficient oversight, and a commitment to transparency and accountability’.

    “It is expected that the NOCs that will succeed in maximizing their potential enterprise value, and thus maximize their revenue contribution to the nation, will be those who succeed at building strong governance along with capital and operational excellence into their culture”.

    Another area highlighted by the NNRC as a big challenge to the growth of the NNPC is the issue of corporate governance.

    The institute noted that peer group companies that are wholly government owned like the NNPC do have strong governing boards constituted by competent professionals, instead of preference for political representation.

    “The NNPC is the only NOC with a serving government minister on its board. This brings unintended political baggage which impacts negatively on the smooth running of the organization.

    “Closely linked to governance, management and delivery is the concern for organizational flux. Compared to other NOC’s the NNPC has had far more executive turnover.

    “Unlike Petronas where the average tenure of a CEO is 6 years, and 9 years in Saudi Aramco NNPC by contrast has had 20 GMDs in 42 years, an average tenure of 2 years per chief executive,” it stated.

    Reforming the Corporation, according to the NNRC requires new thinking and new strategies.

    “It starts with the recognition that NNPC is not and was never designed, from the beginning, to be a commercially driven enterprise. Had it been so, it would have been capitalised, granted more operational autonomy and burdened with fewer regulatory functions as in the NNPC Act.

    “Its governing board would reflect that of a commercial enterprise, even if government owned like Saudi Aramco, with fewer ‘political appointees’.

    “No doubt the Petroleum Industry Bill will be a good platform to remedy the deficiencies in particular as it goes to greater lengths to separate commercial entities from regulatory authorities, leaving the national oil company to focus on finding, producing and commercializing petroleum resources,” the statement reads.

    However, the NNRC commended NNPC for its commitment to its TAPE agenda and its recent efforts to it by publishing the 2018 audited reports of its subsidiaries.

    “Still, there remains a need for greater transparency and accountability. It is expected that these practices will survive the present administration and going forward become part of the corporate culture,” NNRC stated.

  • NNPC Expresses Commitment to Biodiversity

    NNPC Expresses Commitment to Biodiversity

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed its determination to adhere to sustainable environment practices in all its operations to safeguard biodiversity in the country.

    Group Managing (more…)

  • Fuel subsidy: FG urged to channel revenue to health sector

    Fuel subsidy: FG urged to channel revenue to health sector

    An expert in the oil and gas industry has urged the federal government to use the opportunity presented by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis to remove fuel subsidy in real terms and channel the revenue to the health sector of the Nigerian economy.

    Faith Nwadishi, Director of Women in Extractives, who made the call during a Twitter conference hosted by Dayo Ibitoye on Monday, said Nigerians did not get the full picture of the politics behind the removal of subsidy in the wake of Occupy Nigeria in 2012.

    The Director, therefore, called on the President Muhammadu Buhari government to implement transparently the removal of subsidy as recently announced by Mallam Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    She also urged the Buhari’s government to ensure stability in the region where oil is produced by addressing conflicts and ensuring transparency in the developments in the sector, such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Ogoni cleanup, amongst other initiatives.

    “Nigerians did not have a full picture of the politics behind the removal of the subsidy. I was one of those in 2012 that opposed the subsidy removal but the reality is that even though we have been told that there is no more subsidy, we keep seeing budget lines for it.

    “As of 2012, we had completely abused the reason for a subsidy on a commodity such as PMS. It was a conduit for the siphoning of our commonwealth by a few individuals, rather than subsidy benefiting the masses, it benefited rulers.

    “If government decides to remove subsidy, they should be upfront about it and be transparent in its implementation. Government needs to seek the trust of Nigerians on this; we had been short-changed in the past.

    “The outright removal of subsidy will be beneficial to us; hopefully we will see this happen. But the government must commit to a transparent rendition of the accounts and savings from the removal of subsidy.

    “The announcement by the GMD, NNPC is a welcome one and the right thing to do. With COVID-19 here, we must remove the subsidy and channel that revenue to other areas, e.g. our health sector,” Nwadishi stated.

    The Director also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to treat the Petroleum Industry Bill as a matter for urgent attention in the face of the COVID-19 challenges faced by the country, and the falling oil prices.

    According to her, it was sad that for almost two decades the nation was yet discussing the Petroleum Industry Bill, and what it will do for the industry; yet, no headway.

    She stressed that since the PIB will now be presented as an executive bill, which was one of the challenges of the last bill presented as a private member bill, the President should facilitate passage of the bill.

    “The PIB to a large extent will address the issues with the structural corruption in the country. Then, the individuals that will be responsible for these structures will have to be exemplary Nigerians.

    “We should also begin to carry out urgent reforms in the petroleum sector that will make it more beneficial to our economy and the people considering that we are an oil-dependent country.

    “Therefore, we need to urgently do the following, pass the PIB, ensure the stability of the sector, deregulation of the sector, implement transparently the removal of subsidy as announced by the GMD NNPC, ensure stability of the region, speed up the review of Presidential Amnesty Program and clear the uncertainty; revisit all reports of enquires and audits in the sector and implement the recommendations therein,” she stated.

    On the urgent need to diversify the nation’s economy in real terms, Nwadishi urged the Nigerian government to focus on three sectors, namely: manufacturing, agriculture and technology, she said would yield immediate results.

    “Government should engage more vigorously and sincerely the stakeholders in the different sectors outlined,” Nwadishi stated.