Dr. Reuben Abati, a public affairs analyst, has carpeted some members of the House of Representatives who reportedly called for the sack of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari.
Abati, a former Senior Adviser on Media and Publicity to former President Goodluck Jonathan, said the call was unfair, wrong and unreasonable.
He stated this in response to some paid advertisements said to have been sponsored by a fragment of.members of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, clamouring for the sack of Kyari.
The former presidential spokesman said it was wrong for the lawmakers to ascribe the persisting problems in the oil and gas sector to just one man.
Abati stated in a statement that the NNPC CEO was not the root cause of the problems bedeviling the petroleum industry. He explained that the sector was plagued by deeper structural issues that have been ignored for decades.
“The problem with the oil and gas industry in Nigeria is not Mele Kyari. The problem is the way we have run our affairs as a country. Leadership is what is required to address these issues, not crucifying an individual,” Abati stated.
The veteran journalist pointed out that the industry’s challenges have been evident since the 1970s, adding that successive administrations have failed to tackle them.
According to him, Mele Kyari has been making lots of efforts to solve the problems in the oil and gas sector and should thus be given the opportunity to operate.
Abati chided the lawmakers for their stance on Kyari. He said: “I think the bigger story is that we have seen some people in the media saying Kyari is the problem with the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“We have seen people put up an advertisement for and against the sack of Mele Kyari. No, Mele Kyari is not the problem.
“There are fundamental issues with the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, which has been there since the 70s and no government has been able to address it.
“So, it is not about crucifying an individual. What Kyari, in my own understanding, is trying to do is to make an effort to solve the problem.
“But to assume that one man is the cause of the problem will be a very unfair, wrong and unreasonable way to go.
“So, the members of the National Assembly who are saying they want to take Kyari’s head, no, they have their own heads in the wrong place. He is not the cause of the problem.”
Abati also emphasised that the focus should be on addressing the systemic issues, rather than blaming individuals.
“Nigeria, and the way we have run our affairs so far, is the problem. Leadership is what is required. So, the ball is back in the court of the leaders,” he added.
A report has it that the NNPCL has grown in leaps and bounds since the Petroleum Industry Act came into force, leading to the creation of the company about two years ago.
NNPCL, as presently structured, has broken new grounds in the two years it has been in existence.
The management of the company, under the leadership of Mele Kyari, has reportedly steered the company away from the unprofitable ways of doing business.
According to the report, NNPCL under Kyari has transformed into a more transparent and financial prudent means of administering the entity, in line with global best practices.
In addition to a plethora of successes actors it’s business value chain, NNPCL has received flowers for its success and renewed vigour.
These included the execution of the gas commercialisation programme aimed at leveraging the nation’s enormous gas resources to promote industrialisation and boost revenues.
Another key stride recorded by NNPCL since 2021 has been the reversal of losses the company had been suffering.
In 2022, it posted its second consecutive year of ‘profit’ announcing N674.1 billion in the 2021 financial period and growing it from N287 billion in 2020.
The figure represented an increase of N387 billion or 134.8 per cent when compared to the previous N287 billion recorded in 2020.
The improvement followed the approval of the 2021 audited financial statements by the Board of the oil company.
The NNPCL has progressed to a new performance level from N287bn profit in 2020 to N674bn profit after tax in 2021, moving higher by 134.8 per cent, year-on-year profit growth.
