The Federal Government has been urged to overhaul the management of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to reflect the national outlook of Nigeria and make the corporation productive for the growth of the economy.
TribuneOnline reports that President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), on Saturday, approved the reconstitution of the Board of NNPC.
Members of the new Board for a three-year tenure, included Mohammed Lawal (North West), Tajudeen Umar (North East), Adamu Mahmood Attah (North Central), Senator Magnus Abe (South South), Dr Stephen Dike (South East), and Chief Pius Akinyelure (South West).
It will, however, be recalled that there have been growing concerns in some quarters that to engender a meaningful development, appointments into NNPC should be devoid of nepotism, tribalism and ‘man know man’ influence as is being allegedly experienced at present.
Speaking on the concerns, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, a business tycoon in Delta State, opined that appointments at the corporation could be viewed as square pegs in round holes.
According to him, this gives credence to the daily dwindling fortunes of the corporation at the detriment of the economy of the country.
He said the claim that the recent top management appointments executed in March 2020 at the corporation were based on professional competence, adherence to the principle of transparency, accountability and national spread was ridiculous, lacking in substance and concocted to hoodwink Southern Nigerians.
Onuesoke, who’s a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, wondered why billions of dollars is being spent to import refined petroleum products amid four unproductive refineries the country has.
“Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries at Warri, Port Harcourt (where there are two) and Kaduna have worked at a fraction of their overall capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, forcing the government to barter crude production – up to 330,000 barrels per day – for gasoline refined elsewhere.
“This means losing revenues that could be invested in health, education and infrastructure. It is better we sell out the refineries or shut them down.
“One cannot see why the nation is spending billions in paying staff salaries and maintaining the refineries when they are not productive,” he disclosed.
He, therefore, advised the FG to appoint competent technocrats into the board, rehabilitate the refineries for production, adding that the refineries be managed on a fully commercial governance structure in which decision making will rest with the Board of Governors of the Plants, with full control of their funds.
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