Senate backs minister's move to restructure NNPC

dimeji akinloye

March 10, 2016 6:40 PM

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, said the minister's decision is in the best interest of the country.

Nigeria's Oil Minister and OPEC president Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu addresses a news conference after a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna, Austria, December 4, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, said the minister's decision is in the best interest of the country.

Speaking to newsmen after after a closed-door meeting with Kachikwu at the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, March 10, Alasoadura stressed that the reorganization at the NNPC to reposition it for optimal performance.

The senate had yesterday, March 9, indicated that it would probe the NNPC 'unbundling' after workers of the corporation shut down operations, leading to a nationwide fuel scarcity.

READ: NNPC workers shut head office, fuel supply over unbundling

Kachikwu had clarified that what is going on at the NNPC is not unbundling but just reorganization.

“He is working in the best interest of Nigeria. Now that the price of oil is going down, if we do not restructure, we might run into more problems as a country," Alasoadura said.

“Why we invited him was to be sure that the law was not contravened and we are convinced.

“From figures made available to us, NNPC in recent times lost about N30 billion monthly, but because of the restructuring, it lost only N3 billion, last month.

“The minister assured that the restructuring when completed, will help to end any form of loss.

“The only problem we had was that we were not consulted and the Minister of State adequately apologised,’’ he added.

In his earlier comment, Kachikwu stressed that NNPC is not being unbundled, assuring that it would no longer be business as usual at the Corporation.

He said: “I may have been misunderstood, but I want to assure you that it would no longer be business as usual; we will run a profitable entity.

“I want to assure you that we will create new ideas that we will create new challenges for people who are in the system, that we will create new career part for people, that we will create accountability.

“Every publication we have done since September, if you take time to read the numbers, you will see how they are moving very positively, both in terms of volume, in terms of reduced loss position.

“It is also in terms of massive reduction in the cost environment rate.

“So, I think we are going into a threshold where the measures are going to be the major focus for us because we have to deal with outstanding debts.

“Others are new funding for them to do a hundred per cent production platform and that is the only way you can increase incremental barrels."

The NNPC workers who shut down operations yesterday have since resumed work following a meeting Kachikwu held with the workers' union on Wednesday night.

dimeji akinloye