By Tina Amanda
A Stakeholder in the Oil and Gas Industry, Comrade Azubuike Azubuike has insisted that the transition of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to NNPC Limited can only be effective if government would truly take off it hands from its operations.
Comrade Azubuike who disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent, maintained that NNPC Limited can only be a commercial venture and profit making company when its activities are independently managed, as it will help it compete with it peers the Aramco and Petrobras companies.
He emphasized that the new face of NNPC is the only economic survival and stability the country has, especially now countries are transiting to renewable (green) energy, as NNPC has long been shrouded in secrecy.
“It will help to provide the energy need of the country, we can now have our refineries working because when our refineries are functioning importation and foreign exchange to an extent will be reduced and the economy will be stabilized.
“However, the issue becomes can government be able to remove their hands from there? What happens to the labour? Because NNPC has Staff who are government employed, now that it has become private organization what happens to those staff and how are the labour issues going to be managed.
“And again, in the so many years of NNPC existence this is the first time an audit have been made public, it’s activities have always been shrouded in secrecy. They made us understand that after how many years no single profit was made.
“The privatization would still not work when government on it’s own are not interested in profit and loss, it will still be like normal jamboree we are used to.”
He further said the way forward is for the new NNPC to lay a strong foundation now in line with the world best global practices which the next government will work upon.
“Remember our major income comes from Oil and Gas, what they should do is to lay foundation now because this present government is going and the upcoming government will take up from there, so there is need to allow this people lay foundation. This is an Act of the PIA, if it is not done it means we are against the PIA Law.”
