Wrong Perception of NNPC Worries Yakubu

Fri, Mar 28, 2014

By publisher

5 MIN READ

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THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has expressed concern over wrong public perception about the organisation, saying it will affect negatively the inflow of foreign direct investment, FDI, into the country. Andrew Yakubu, group managing director, NNPC, expressed the concern at a dinner in Abuja.

“We cannot do this business without Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, without foreign participation. Our credibility level is going down very fast. And unfortunately, it is based on perception. If we continue at this rate, I am going to tell you something that is very bad. I will ask all of you that if you continue to destroy our economy this way, then pray never to give birth to children because those children are coming to suffer the outcome of our terrible destructive attitudes. Because it will be difficult for anybody to invest in this country if we continue to destroy our country’s perception. If you are talking of corruption, mention anywhere you don’t have any iota of corruption. But what they do, is that you do it but the law will catch up you one,” Yakubu said.

Describing corruption as endemic in the country, the NNPC boss said it was so bad that his kinsmen said it was a ploy to refuse to assist them when he decided not to influence his daughter’s employment in the corporation. “If that is the situation, if you are there and you are not celebrated back home and you don’t do it, is it NNPC that is corrupt? Then we may need to go for a total national cleansing and deliverance.”

He, however, challenged Nigerians to point out specific cases of corruption for the NNPC to correct as he absolved his management of sharp practices, saying oil production and revenue remittance are monitored by different agencies such as the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Customs Service, Department of Petroleum Resources and Weight & Measure of Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria and others.

Maintaining that it is the NNPC that bears the blame in all Nigerian petroleum related matters, he pleaded that if there was any specific case, people should bring them out to be addressed instead of blanket condemnation and baseless allegations, which according to him, can only tarnish the image of the corporation.

Dikki lauds Jonathan over Power Privatisation

THE Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, has attributed the success of the power sector transaction to the determination of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to ensure that all inhibitions to the transaction were removed.

Benjamin Ezra Dikki, director-general, BPE, said in Abuja on Thursday, March 20, when he received the 2013 Man of the year award organised by The Oil & Gas Year, TO&GY, said that the Bureau alone would not have recorded the tremendous success in the transaction if President Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo had not given the needed fillip.

He recalled how during the signing of the industry documents for the transaction, some of the critical stakeholders were foot–dragging until the president gave marching orders to them to expediently play their roles. The director general dedicated the award to the president for his focus, determination and meticulous follow-throughs which saw the success of the power sector transaction. “The President held the head of the snake and allowed the BPE to play with its tail,” he said, adding that without the president’s courage, it would not have been a success.

Dikki, who was recognised by the TO&GY for being instrumental in driving the power sector transaction to its logical conclusion, commended the organisers for their integrity.

Also speaking at the event, Ernest Nwapa executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, urged Nigerians to embrace deregulation of the economy to enhance development. He gave an example of the liberalisation of the telecoms sector which he said had opened up   several opportunities in the sector and given easier and cheaper access to telephony which were absent when it was a government monopoly.

Nwapa called for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, to open up the Oil & Gas sector and ultimately, the Nigerian economy. While commending the privatisation of the power sector as it would bring about efficiency and service delivery, he urged Nigerians to consider the removal of oil subsidy as it was the only way to develop and open up the sector.

Ikeja Disco to Install Pre-paid Meters

THE Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IKEDC, has embarked on the installation of transformers in areas under its purview, with a promise to inject 115 transformers into the system in the next one month. Abiodun Ajifowobaje, managing director, IKEDC, who disclosed this during a customer forum conference in Lagos, said about 30 transformers had been installed to boost electricity supply in its areas of coverage.

He said that about 115 ongoing transformers projects in various sites would be completed within the next one month. This, according to him, will be augmented by the installation of 6,000 pre-paid meters in the next one month, while another 7,000 meters will be added thereafter. For all of these, Ajifowobaje said the IKEDC management had approved N600 million fresh funds to be injected into the upgrading of the electricity network it took over from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

He explained that the company had begun the installation of pre-paid meters for about 6,000 customers, who had earlier paid for the meters, and said the Disco was further targeting another set of 7,000 customers within the shortest possible time. “The board has approved about N600m for quick intervention on transformer installation and pre-paid meter installation, and we have started the pilot metering scheme,” Ajifowobaje said.

Compiled by Anayo Ezugwu

— Apr. 7, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT