Oil & Gas
THE precarious economic climate that hovers over Nigeria demands that men and women, including corporations and agencies with good conscience must rally round to salvage the situation before it consumes everyone.
The outcomes of bad behaviour which was obscenely propagated by corporate financial services giants and the elite in Nigeria, and somewhat emulated many middle-income earners have started manifesting voraciously. Like the Holy Scripture aptly put: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”. The above succinctly captures the sad situation of Nigeria’s economy and the fate of Naira.
One of those responsible corporations that have put out working strategies to arrest the drift is the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL. Melee Kyari, the helmsman at the foremost oil corporation, in August 2023, announced that: “NNPC Ltd and Afrexim Bank have jointly signed a commitment letter and Termsheet for an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan.
“The signing, which took place … at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market.”
The NNPCL Project Gazelle is envisioned to rapidly mobilise scarce foreign exchange to give life to ailing Naira and stabilise the economy for the entire well-being of Nigerians. Such heroic and creative financing option that is devoid of opaqueness should be commended by all patriotic Nigerians, and people of good conscience that seek the good of this country.
It is however disheartening to learn that Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president of Nigeria and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 presidential election could politicise the gallant efforts of the NNPCL. Atiku should know that the NNPCL is making efforts to correct the anomalies of the locust years in which he played role.
It is hypocritical for him to be raising unfounded alarm on the
$3.3 billion emergency crude repayment loan secured by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited last year.
Atiku had claimed among others: “Curiously also, Nigeria’s current Barrels Produced Daily, BPD, is 1.38 million, and according to the Project Gazelle deal, Nigeria is to supply 90,000 Barrels of its daily production, starting from 2024 till it is up to 164.25 million barrels for the repayment of the loan.
“Now, this is where the details get disturbing because Nigeria’s benchmark for the sale of crude per barrel in 2024 is $77.96. A simple multiplication of that figure by 164.25 will give us a whooping $12bn.
VANGUARD
14th February, 2024
C.E.
Tags: NNPCL NNPCL Gazelle project
