ONE cannot muster enough anger to protest the defiance
with which whoever gets the apex opportunity to serve Nigeria annexes the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL. Before the voices of
dissent arise, it is important to say that one of the ways in a public company
authenticates that it is public is the strong efforts it makes to be
accountable.
Some would jump up again to shout that NNPCL accounts
to the President, and that it is a “private company”. If that is the situation,
it merely confirms what has been sheer speculations for a long time – that
NNPCL accounts to itself, and to only those who are part of the secrecy on
which it runs.
It is their NNPCL. They are offended when we wonder
what NNPCL does and for who.
Details of what happen at NNPCL are scandalous-prone
and easily lend themselves to rumours. The attitude is to ignore the public.
The latest leadership changes at NNPCL have been followed by announcements of
arrests, investigations, and billions of Dollars that could have been
misappropriated.
The government’s attitude is consistent. The public
could shout all it wants and keep quiet when it gets tired.
What matters to the President today is how he becomes
President again in 2027. NNPCL is not important to that project in the contexts
that we see Nigeria. How many opposition members join the President’s 2027
campaigns is more important than a Warri refinery that cost almost $700 million
working only for a couple of weeks. It would be imprudent too to raise refinery
matters before the President when he is celebrating his conquests of the
opposition.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is
not saying anything about the investigations except information that the public
gets through anonymous sources. Are investigations going on? Silence is deemed
the best answer for Nigerians on whose behalf government officials hold office.
How deep are the holes that we are filling at NNPCL?
Wisdom still resides in the ancient saying that
“someone is the owner of what belongs to us”. NNPCL is a perfect example of a
national ownership that will remain questioned for a very long time.
Let us assume that NNPCL is Nigeria’s national oil
company. The assumption would further be that it is accountable to Nigerians.
It does that through audited accounts from which we gleaned that in 2023 it
made a profit of N3.397 trillion. No applauses, please. Less than a week after
the financial statement, in September 2024, NNPCL reportedly owed international
petroleum products dealers $6.8 billion.
In the era of Presidents being Petroleum Ministers,
the President is in-charge of NNPCL. He decides who serves, also at his
pleasure. President Tinubu is the Minister of Petroleum Resources. Who will the
Minister account to? He is Executive President, though our Constitution
provides for a President. He has immunity, and something weightier than
immunity, the National Assembly whose leadership excels in approving anything
the President wants with dispatch.
Concerns about NNPCL are majorly muted. If NNPCL is
under probe, does it affect the Minister of Petroleum Resources? Who dares
probe the President? Under what Constitution would that be executed. We should
also remember that it is their NNPCL.
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for
Petroleum and Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Gas are just proxies.
They cannot decide a thing on the industry without clearing with the Minister,
President Tinubu. Or can they?
Who has forgotten the celebrations staged about the
revamping of our refineries? Mele Kyari, then NNPCL Group Chief Executive
Officer, said: “I must congratulate our team for their determination and
extreme belief that this company can restart this plant. This has brought the
result we are seeing in collaboration with our contractors. We have proved that
it is possible to restart a plant that you deliberately shut down. We have
proved this.” It is possible that he knew that nobody would congratulate him.
Doubts persisted about what had been done.
Of course, the President also joined in congratulating
himself. He was abroad then, but took time off his busy schedule to
congratulate himself on the achievements in Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
He said Kaduna was next. We should not forget that he is the Minister of
Petroleum Resources.
NNPCL in a statement, on 25 January 2025 admitted,
“Operations at WRPC Area 1 were intentionally curtailed to carry out necessary
intervention works on select equipment, including field instruments that were
impacting sustainable and steady operations. These intervention works are
essential to ensure the production of specification finished and intermediate
products, particularly Automotive Gas Oil and Kerosine. The routine maintenance
is progressing as planned, and Area 1 will be back in operation within the next
few days.”
Warri has not worked since then. Port Harcourt is
working at under 50 per cent. Kyari departed with his magic, rather his magic
expired before he left office.
President cum Minister of Petroleum Resources has been
actively campaigning round the country, or by proxy. He has not had time to
visit the monstrosities that are costing Nigeria millions of Dollars in the
latest round of repairs. Should we be reminded that as the Minster of Petroleum
Resources the matter is on his table. Is he still congratulating himself for
last year’s magic?
Insecurity apart, the foremost challenges before the
President should be to get the refineries working, curb the stealing of oil and
gas assets, invest in more energy sources with the goals of earning more money
to secure Nigerians, halt rising prices, reduce costs of production, create
more jobs, and make food, and improved health services accessible to Nigerians
at affordable prices. Increases in prices of petroleum prices trigger off
increases in prices of everything, even the cost of dying.
His second term campaigns are running fairly well,
perhaps, better than he expected. Can the President take a breather and look at
the directionless journey of Nigeria? Can he take some time off the noise and
listen to ordinary Nigerians who daily are pulling on their last string of
hope?
President Tinubu has work to do. He has not started.
There must be more to Nigeria than elections,
defections, 2027, second term. Only the President can tell us what is left of
his Nigeria without these evaporating phases that would be gone in a matter of
years
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