NNPC Limited: No free service to FG — Kyari
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has assured that the corporation would no longer render free service to the federal government once the firm becomes fully commercialised in coming months.
NNPC boss made this disclosure while speaking on a national television programme, noting that any services rendered to the government by the NNPC limited and its subsidiaries would require the government to pay for such services.
He added that the corporation would no longer have access to government funding, but would survive based on its internal resilience and efficiency.
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was recently signed into law by the President with the purpose of paving way for the full incorporation of the national oil company as a publicly quoted company, going forward.
According to him, “First of all, the PIA is very clear that within six months, we must incorporate the NNPC as a company that is bound by the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). The meaning of this is that you must be fully commercial, you must be profitable.
“It means that you will have no access to any other results, other than from your own production and your own productivity. So, that means that NNPC will be the different company that it has to be.
“Even when you render service to anyone, including the institutions of government, it must be at a fee and the PIA is very clear that even when we render service to the state, it would be at a fee. So, it’s going to be a different game.”
He stressed that although today NNPC is in a good stead, having recently declared N287 billion profit, with the assets available to it, the company can be turned into a multi-trillion naira business organisation.
Kyari said that when NNPC becomes a limited liability company, it will operate in a competitive environment, with the sole aim of making profits.
The GMD pointed out that the NNPC decided to be more transparent in its operations because of the perception of Nigerians that the company operates in a very opaque environment, explaining that even for its lenders, the condition of accountability remains sacrosanct.
He added that, “We know for sure, that historically many people have doubts about what NNPC does. Our shareholders think that we’re an opaque company, that we’re not representing them well, and that we don’t know what we’re doing and I’m sure many times you see us in the media, in the public space, in very many forums, everybody thinks that nobody knows what NNPC is doing.
“We know that trust is very essential for our business. We also know that our partners, you know, financial institutions, even commercial partners would like to see and know what we are doing, so that they can invest in our company.
“So we know that making transparency and accountability, a primary focus of our activities will serve the best interests and will also enable our partners to see what we are doing, so borrowing became easier for us.”
On Nigeria’s gas expansion programme, he stated that the country hadn’t done enough investing in it, adding that COVID-19 had actually proven that gas can be more resilient than oil.
With the assent to the PIA, he explained that gas monetisation, both domestically and for export and massive investment in gas infrastructure will take the front burner to create prosperity and jobs for Nigerians.
Kyari stressed that the plan is to develop what he described as the “white structure” for gas delivery in the country, to ensure that all parts of the country under 200km max from the trunk line, is fully hooked to the gas system.
