The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has said that for Nigeria to avoid more wasteful years of non-performing puplic assets in the oil sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) must come up with creative ways for optimal performance.
The Speaker stated this when he received the management of the NNPCL, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Thursday.
Speaker Abbas, while commending the NNPCL for taking full advantage of the Petroleum Industry Act to maximise its commercial potentials, decried the state of Nigeria’s refineries such as the one in Kaduna, which he said had been moribund for over 20 years, even though the staff were maintained, paid and promoted.
He described the situation as inefficiency and waste of human resources that needed to be addressed.
“I am from Kaduna, and the Kaduna refinery has been moribund for more than 20 years. I know of people working there who have been idle all these years receiving salaries and promotions. This is inefficiency of a worrisome proportion. The company needs to seek creative ways to repurpose staff strength in such facilities to areas where they can remain productive even in the absence of crude oil at the refineries,” the Speaker said.
Speaker Abbas called for measures to turn around the losses suffered by the economy, owing to the non-productive state of the refineries, by privatising them for better management and productivity.
The Speaker congratulated the company for redirecting gains of subsidy removal to other productive areas of enhancement that are now adding value to the system as shown by the quantum leap being reported in its revenue profile as presented by the Chief Executive.
He said the 10th House, and by extension the National Assembly, would fully be behind the company in its fight against oil theft, disclosing that the House has taken the lead in creating a Special Committee on Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism, which was inaugurated on Wednesday.
Speaker Abbas, who received the NNPC management in company of the Minority Whip of the House, Hon. Ali Isa, and the chairmen of relevant committees in the oil and gas sector, assured the company of the willingness of the House to always partner with it in repositioning the nation’s economy.
Earlier, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPC Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari, highlighted the areas of improvement in the company using the instrument of the Petroleum Industry Act.
The company’s chief, who reiterated that the entity has fully gone commercial with the new law, added that it was hitherto operating at a loss, recording a negative of N803 billion in 2018.
Mr Kyari, however, informed the Speaker and the House that the changes that happened in the company after the PIA have led to the realisation of N674 billion profit after tax in 2021, and over N2trillion income in 2022.
Mr Kyari added that the company had a projected revenue to the tune of N4.5 trillion as expected income in 2023, adding that having gone fully commercial, the company controls over 30% of the market share in the downstream sector.
“This company is operating just like any other private company providing dividends to its shareholders. We have over 30% of the market share in the downstream sector, which is why no single player can hold this country to ransom in terms of making products available to Nigerians.
“So when you see queue, it’s really not as a result of scarcity but internal events arising from the actions of marketers, and people can always go to our stations and be served. They are guaranteed quality and accurate quantity of dispensed products.”