NNPC: Governor Demands Clarification Over Ownership

Mohammed O. Taoheed reports,

Some Nigerian governors have made known their worries over the ownership, assets and liabilities of the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

The expression over concerns was raised at a virtual National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, which comes hardly a month following the one-time government-run conglomerate transformed into private entity.

As seen in a statement coming from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office in the Vice President’s Office, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, had gave updates on crude oil production, petrol supply situation and security intervention against oil theft to the Council.

After the reservations raised by the governors, the NEC resolved and the Vice President ordered that a sub-committee of the Council be set up to consider the governors’ concerns and liaise with the federal government on such concerns.

The NEC equally took a report on the 2021 financial performance of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), thanking the board and management for a good performance amid the unfavorable economic conditions.

The Council had got briefings from the Managing Director of the NSIA, Uche Orji, who, in his presentation confirmed that the NSIA closed the 2021 financial year with a profit after tax of N153.8 billion, slightly down 1.9 per cent from 2020. (2020: N156.5 billion).

In his words, aggregate wide income declined marginally in 2021 by 8.2 per cent to close the year at N147.0 billion (2020: N160.1 billion).

According to him: “The NSIA has reached major milestones across domestic infrastructure in the year under review in terms of projects such as motorways, agriculture, healthcare, technology, gas industrialization and others.”

The NEC also assented the presentations made by Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Otunba Niyi Adebayo and the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Jumoke Oduwole on System Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) programme.

The suggestion for the set-up of SABER’s National Steering Committee, including PEBEC and the NG SABER Ad hoc Committee to be presided over by the vice president was concurred to.

The Council had briefings from both the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).