Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stated that contrary to the claim by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to be a private firm, “it remains the ATM of the Federal Government.”
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections therefore demanded the listing of the corporation on the stock exchange in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
“Currently, the NNPCL claims to be private, but this is only a ruse to fool the feeble-minded because it remains the ATM of the Federal Government. Anything short of listing the NNPCL on the stock exchange is nothing but a cosmetic development,” Atiku said.
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Atiku stated this in reaction to the decision of the NNPCL to hand over the Warri and Kaduna refineries to private operators who are expected to manage and operate them.
He said, “The NNPCL is supposed to have been listed on the stock exchange in line with the Petroleum Industry Act. This would make the company more profitable and enhance transparency and corporate governance.”
Atiku, in a statement, further alleged that the NNPC Limited continues to provide political protection to the President Bola Tinubu government’s policy inconsistency on the payment of subsidy, raising questions about the independence that the PIA requires of the NNPC Limited as a private business concern.
The ex-PDP presidential candidate said previous arrangements and concessions had not worked because of a lack of transparency in the contract award process as well as the failure of the government to attract investors.
The former VP said for such a deal to succeed at all, the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) and a credible technical partner like Standard and Poor’s must be part of the process.
Atiku added, “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo revealed recently that even Shell, one of the world’s wealthiest oil companies, rejected the offer to operate Nigeria’s refineries. This is because the NNPCL has, for years, been a cesspool of endemic corruption.
“This is why over $20bn that has been spent on the refineries in the last 20 years has led to nowhere. It is also curious that a government that is still paying petrol subsidies is trying to make its refineries profitable. Which businessman will invest in a refinery that has been programmed to operate at a loss?”
Atiku questioned the feasibility of the NNPC’s latest plan, even as he pointed out that such arrangements in the past had not been profitable.
He added, “The manage and operate approach has not always worked. The Manitoba Hydro International, which was handed to the Transmission Company of Nigeria led to nowhere. Similarly, Global Steel Limited, which was handed the Ajaokuta Steel Company, was not able to make the facility profitable.
“The contract was questionably revoked by the (President) Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration, and Nigeria ended up paying Global Steel a compensation of nearly $500m while Ajaokuta remains comatose 17 years later.”
The Waziri Adamawa advised the NNPCL not to make the contract process opaque like it did with OVH last year, which he said was not only dubious, but has still failed to boost the NNPCL’s petrol sufficiency as evidenced by the months-long fuel scarcity.
“In 2022, Nueoil, an unknown and newly registered company, acquired OVH and Oando filling stations. Barely four months later, NNPCL Retail bought Nueoil and took control of all its assets, including the Oando filling stations.
“Barely eight months later, OVH turned around to take over NNPCL Retail. This convoluted transaction was done in order to hide the corruption involved. If this is the approach that the NNPCL wants to use in handing over its refineries to private hands, then Nigerians should not expect any positive development whatsoever.”
