Senate Backs NNPC's Restructuring

Senate Backs NNPC's Restructuring

The Senate has expressed support on the ongoing restructuring of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu.

The upper chamber noted that the move was within the law setting up NNPC.

The minister who appeared before the Senate Joint committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream) and Gas, explain the rationale behind the restructuring exercise.

After Kachikwu finished answering questions from the committee, he was invited to a closed-door session by the committee which lasted for almost one hour. The committee emerged from the meeting to announce that his action was in good faith.  It however, regretted that Kachikwu did not consult it before embarking on the restructuring exercise.

Kachikwu had told the committee that restructuring the corporation was necessary in its effort to offset the $5.2 billion that it is currently owing major oil companies. He also said it would reduce its current N30 billion monthly losses that it records.

He also said the restructuring was meant to enhance the productivity of its subsidiaries and make them more effective and efficient.

 "I must apologise that we didn't take some of the senate leadership along the path of this restructuring but if you look at the draft of the Petroleum Industry Bill sent to us for our input, you will discover that the restructuring was within the suggestion we made.

"Having said that, I must take responsibility for not carrying out the necessary consultation as we should have done," he said.

A member of the committee,  Senator Sola Adeyeye,  said the minister would have run foul of the law if he had attempted to unbundle NNPC  as it would  have contravened Cap 23 (6) 1D of the Act that established the agency.

While briefing journalists after the closed session, Chairman, of the Joint Committee, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, described the interactive session with the minster as promising.

He said the three committees were convinced that his action was legal and would promote efficiency in NNPC, generate more revenue and guarantee availability of the product.

Alasoadura said: "We have a very useful discussion with the minister. He clarified the issue that he was not unbundling NNPC because it is an entity created by an Act of the National Assembly and nobody can touch it unless he comes back to the National Assembly for ammendments. 

"Having looked at what he did and the presentation he made to us, and having considered the welfare of its staff of NNPC and those working in the subsidiaries that were affected by the reorganisation that he has done in the sector, we found out that the staff would not be shortchanged, nor deprived of his employment.