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Tag: Kachikwu

  • More knocks for Kachikwu

    More knocks for Kachikwu

    •Kudos for Tinubu’s stand•Group backs minister

    Minister of State (Petroleum) Dr. Ibe Kachikwu was again under attack yesterday for the biting fuel shortage that has crippled cities and businesses.

    Kachikwu, who was lashed by All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for “insurbodination” after saying “I’m not a magician” in response to questions about the fuel crisis, is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    The Civil Society Coalition for Positive Change and Stand Up for Nigeria (SUN) issued a 72 hours ultimatum to the minister to resign from office over the prolonged scarcity.

    Comrade Venatius Torkuma and Labake Boboye National President and Executive Director of the groups, in a joint statement, said Kachikwu had failed to justify his appointment.

    Kachikwu, had said, in reaction to public criticism of his handling of the fuel scarcity, that Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of fuel it is doing.

    The group described the statement as “careless” and “insulting” to Nigerians who voted for the current administration. The group called on President Muhammadu Buhari to fire Kachikwu should he refuse to resign.

    It stated that the statement by the minister that he was not trained as a magician is an admittance of his incompetence.

    The group threatened to take to the street on Wednesday in “a mother of all protests” in the nation’s capital to draw the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari and members of the international community should the minister refuse to resign.

    The statement said: “Nigerians fought hard to vote in this government of change. But to hear the minister say the kind of things he said is not only insulting to Nigerians but showed his gross incompetence. Nigerians will not tolerate such recklessness. In case the minister needs a reminder, the era of incompetence is long gone with the previous administration.

    “Since he has admitted that he cannot restore normalcy to the current fuel crisis, he should immediately resign his position.   Indeed Kachikwu was not coerced to take this job.”

    An APC chieftain in Ekiti State, Chief Segun Osinkolu, hailed Tinubu for cautioning Kachikwu over his comment.

    Osinkolu said Tinubu’s criticism of Kachikwu should not be misconstrued for a crack within the ruling party but a clarion call from a concerned party leader on how a serving senior government official should relate with the people.

    Addressing party supporters yesterday at his country home in Ayede-Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area, Osinkolu said Tinubu’s remarks on Kachikwu was in the best interest of Nigerians and the need for leaders to see themselves as servants of the people.

    The former APC senatorial aspirant for Ekiti North said despite the comment credited to the minister, he (Kachikwu) is competent and experienced enough to handle the ministry and head the NNPC.

    He dismissed calls in some quarters that Kachikwu should resign his appointments saying throwing in the towel in the middle of the crisis could compound the situation.

    Osinkolu said: “Though it is going to take a while before the issue of oil scarcity will be resolved, but the  minister  should learn how to manage the public. He should try and understand the mood  of the people. How can a minister be saying that he is not a magician under this circumstance? I don’t think it is right.

    “This is not the first time Nigeria will be experiencing fuel scarcity, but President Muhammadu Buhari represents change and this must reflect in  our deeds and actions in APC. Kachikwu should have handled the current situation better than addressing  the public in such a haughty and brazen manner.

    “So, I want to thank our leader, Asiwaju Tinubu for mustering the bravado to speak even against someone who is in his own party.

    “This scarcity does not mean Buhari’s government is  overwhelmed. The problem has been there for long, it is not a new problem. What the government is trying to do is to  fix it and this they will do  with Nigerians’ support”.

  • Of Moses and Kachikwu

    Of Moses and Kachikwu

    Hardball wagers that adversity sharpens the mind. And here is an example. The excruciating living conditions of most citizens today, sharply brings to one’s mind, some kind of parallel between the biblical Prophet Moses and our junior oil minister, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu. Bible students will agree that Moses is perhaps the most significant figure in the good book, second only to Jesus Christ. Now how can anyone begin to place Kachikwu beside Moses?

    Here is how: the great leader of the Israelites, Moses, despite being imbued with so much grace and anointing, was voided of grace at a point.

    If you remember the great story of the Israelites journey through the wilderness, you are bound to lose it too if you are leading a pampered tribe on a most punishing desert journey. At every juncture, the people are grumbling and looking back to Egypt from where God miraculously sprung them from a vicious Pharaoh.

    In one of those testy moments, the Israelites came to the wilderness of Zin in Kadesh and there was no water. And the entire people gathered together against Moses and his brother Aaron. And they spoke most contentiously: “… And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” (Numbers 20:5).

    Moses and Aaron as usual, fall on their faces in intercession on behalf of their recalcitrant brethren. Soon enough the glory of the Lord appears to the duo. And the Lord speaks issuing clear, solemn instructions: “Take the rod; (the same rod Moses had used to wrought unbelievable wonders including parting the Red Sea) you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their very eyes and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock…”

    What did good old Moses do? Already uptight and pissed off with an ungrateful clan, he gathers the assembly before the rock; and he says to them: “”Hear now, you rebels, must we bring water to you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; …”

    Of course those who know the Word know the grievous consequences of Moses’ action. They also understand who the Rock represents.

    Now to our dear Kachikwu: Asked last week when the fuel scarcity pain will ease for Nigerians, he said: “One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician but I am working hard to ensure some of these issues go away… and for the six months we have been here, NNPC has moved from 50 per cent importer to 100 per cent importer… so quite frankly, it’s sheer magic that we even have the amount of products at the stations. We are looking to see how to get foreign exchange…”

    Can you hear Kachikwu sounding exasperated with the rest of us the way Moses sounded when the Israelites needed water? He has never queued in a fuel station before, Hardball wagers. But Nigerians need fuel and it is either he can do the job or not.

    And Hardball thinks his job is very simple: he must work on new refineries pronto, lest the scarcity lingers till 2019. Nothing else will work.

  • Fuel scarcity: Tinubu blasts Kachikwu

    Fuel scarcity: Tinubu blasts Kachikwu

    • Takes exception to minister’s ‘I’m not a magician’ comment
    • Says respect, good performance will do what magic can’t do

    National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday ruled the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, out of order for saying he should not be expected to conjure magic in resolving the current fuel crisis in the country.

    He said the minister strayed from the progressive calling required of the Buhari administration by making the statement attributed to him.

    Kachikwu who doubles as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had said, in reaction to public criticism of his handling of the fuel scarcity, that Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of fuel it is currently doing.

    Tinubu, in a statement, threw in his lot with Nigerians who, according to him, were “as right to feel insulted as the minister was wrong to have said such a thing.”

    He said those charged with the responsibility of running the affairs of the country should learn to do things creatively and away from past practices.

    His words: “The art of governance is difficult and complex, especially during trying times. The steep reduction in global oil prices from over 100 dollars per barrel to roughly 40 presents a hard challenge. “We can no longer afford past practices. Nigeria now requires creative reform, materially changing the substance of national economic policy as well as the objectives of that policy and how the policy is presented to the people. Therein lies the essence of progressive democratic governance.

    “The Buhari administration represents the last best hope we have to install such governance in Nigeria and avert the catastrophe that would have befallen us had the prior government remained in place. Had the nation continued with the spendthrift corruption and vagabond economic policies of that administration, we would have soon experienced such a collision with the harsh consequences of that government’s malign ways that our very institutions of government may have been distorted beyond fixture and repair.”

    Asiwaju Tinubu added, “In this effort, there may be no economic matter more difficult to unravel and more sensitive to the purse of the average person than the current fuel scarcity. Even here I am confident of progress because I know the commitment of the president to resolving this matter. I make no attempt to hide it. I am an avid and partisan supporter of this government and of the progressive policies of the party, the APC, upon which this government is based.

    “With that I do reserve the right and the duty as a Nigerian to voice my opinion when I believe a member of this government has strayed from the progressive calling required of this administration. I do this because my greater devotion and love are for this nation and its people. Party and politics fall secondary.

    “Much public ire has been drawn to the statement made by Minister of State (Ibe Kachikwu) that he was not trained as a magician and that basically Nigerians should count themselves fortunate that the NNPC under his stewardship has been able to bring in the amount of petrol fuel it is currently doing.

    “Perhaps the statement by Kachikwu was made in a moment of unguarded frustration or was an awkward attempt at a joke. Whatever the motive, it was untimely and off-putting. The remark did not sit well with the Nigerian people; they were as right to feel insulted as the minister was wrong to have said such a thing.

    “The fuel shortage is severely biting for the average person. They are forced to remain in lines far too long, for too much time, to pay too much money for too little fuel. This is no joking matter. Livelihoods and people’s welfare are at stake. With so much on the line, Kachikwu’s flippancy was out-of-line. He was basically telling Nigerians that they should be lucky that they are getting the inadequate supply they now suffer and that they should just be quiet, and endure the shortage for several weeks more.

    “Kachikwu’s intervention was unhelpful. It panicked and disappointed the public as to the duration of the crisis. It insulted the people by its tonality. He spoke with the imperious nature of a member of the elitist government the people voted out last year and not the progressive one they voted in.”

    He reminded the minister “that he was not coerced to take this job. He accepted the job and its responsibilities knowingly. He also must remember that he does not own NNPC. This also is not a private company that owes nothing to the public except the duty of fair dealing. He is a public servant. The seat he sits upon is owned by Nigerians not by him. The company he runs is owned by Nigerians not by him. They are his boss. He is not theirs. Power is vested in the people. He is a mere custodian or agent of their will. In talking to us in such a manner, he committed an act of insubordination.

    “If he had talked so cavalierly to his boss in the private sector, he would have been reprimanded or worse. If wise, the man should refrain from such interjections in the future.”

    In defending and asserting the rights of Nigerians to complain, Tinubu averred that “As his ultimate bosses, the people have a right to demand the requisite performance and respect from him.  He should apologise for treating them so lightly in this instance. His portfolio being a strategically important one, he needs to reestablish the correct relationship with the public. They no longer feel he is working for their optimal benefit as their servant. Instead, he seems to be standing above them, telling them to take it or leave it.

    “For his policies and stint in office to be successful and a help to this government, he must have the support and belief of the people at this tough time. He must talk to them in a way that they believe he seeks their best interest and understands the hardship weighing upon them. He must ask them to work with him and perhaps to endure a bit longer but with the knowledge that he is working to resolve this matter as fast as he can and as permanently as possible. That he is dedicated to the position that once these current lines are gone that never again shall they reappear as long as he has any influence in the matter.

    “To do this, requires no magic nor training in that strange craft. It requires empathy, compassion and the willpower to forge a better Nigeria. These must be the common trademarks of those serving in a progressive government for these attributes are integral parts of the spirit and ideals upon which the APC was founded. Upon such notions was this administration voted into office by the Nigerian people in the operation of their sovereign will to seek a national leadership that would pursue their interests to the utmost and give them every fair chance to live in a better Nigeria.

    “Even though times are hard we must all realise that they would  be even harder and much darker would be the immediate horizon had we allowed the venal, kleptocracy of the PDP to continue to lord over the land solely for their selfish benefit and not for the common good.

    “I am confident that President Buhari and this government can resolve the issues that press us. From establishing full security and safety to staking a claim to true economic prosperity and fairness, this government shall salvage our national pride and purpose,” Tinubu concluded.

  • Fuel crisis: Kachikwu and TUC’s misplaced anger

    Fuel crisis: Kachikwu and TUC’s misplaced anger

    For declaring he was not a magician capable of conjuring the availability of fuel, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Emmanuel Kachikwu, to resign. Dr. Kachikwu had suggested that he saw no possibility of fuel queues ending until perhaps the end of May because, according to him, what had sustained the partial availability of fuel till now was pure magic. The minister obviously had plenty of magic on his agitated mind.

    President Muhammadu Buhari and Dr. Kachikwu are reported to be working hard to proffer a solution to the scarcity. To do this, said the Minister of State, the NNPC would have to end its 100 percent dominance of the fuel importation business. The country will hope that the minister’s promise to ensure availability of fuel by June will be realised. On this promise, there is no controversy, even if they still end up unable to meet the fuel needs of Nigerians.

    What is really controversial is the call by the TUC on Dr. Kachikwu to resign should he lack the ingenuity to end the problem. But why target the Minister of State when the Minister of Petroleum Resources has not been pressured to relinquish his office? President Buhari is the minister; he should draw the ire of TUC and other aggrieved individuals in case of problems with the oil industry, downstream and upstream. And since the president has decided to keep the petroleum portfolio to himself rather than assign it to someone else, he should accept responsibility for the crisis bedevilling the sector. The legislature has shown interest in finding out what is wrong with fuel supplies; they should begin by inviting the Petroleum minister, not his proxy or deputy.

  • A minister’s gospel truth

    A minister’s gospel truth

    Kachikwu says we should give him two months to expect fuel always; let’s oblige him to fulfill all righteousness

    For once, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) spoke the truth in a long time on the lingering fuel scarcity. But it almost immediately lost the credit through its denial of what is obvious. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who doubles as the corporation’s managing director, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, declared, rather categorically, that Nigerians may have to live with persistent fuel scarcity till May or thereabout. This is a radical departure from the lies and, at best, half truths that we have been hearing about the fuel situation. Although before now, discerning Nigerians have always known that there is more to the fuel scarcity that won’t just go away, than meets the eye, there is nothing as good as hearing the real reason from the man that should know and that knows; and who is also competent to speak on the issue. These are different matters altogether.

    One may not know and still be expected to speak as if he knows. There is a problem, here. Again, one may know (the truth) but may not be competent to say it as it is when he has not got the green light to say it, either expressly or through his master’s body language. Here, too, there is a problem. But there is nothing as good as hearing it undiluted from the one who should know and who actually knows and at the same time is in a position to speak on it. Succinctly put, there is nothing as good as hearing it from the horse’s mouth.

    Dr Kachikwu spoke on Wednesday after a closed-door meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the National President of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Igwe Achese, and President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Olabode Francis Johnson, at the Presidential Villa. The minister said part of the problem is that the NNPC had moved from a 50 per cent importer of products to basically a 100 per cent importer. He said it was quite a huge feat that the country even had the current amount of the product at the filling stations.

    Asked specifically when the fuel queues will disappear, Kachikwu said, “One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician, but I am working very hard to ensure some of these issues go away … We are going to put a new model to enable us to increase the pace and actually get majors as part of the crew of those to bring in more products so that the NNPC will sort of go back on the capacity of what it used to do and the majors will take over the balance of importation. I think if we do that, although I don’t want to put a time frame, but I will expect that over the next two months, we should see quite frankly a complete elimination of this (fuel queues).”

    The truth of the matter is that, for decades, NNPC spokespersons have usually fallen short of telling us the truth about the situation whenever we experience gruelling fuel scarcity. They regale us with how there is sufficient product to go round but for some marketers who are sabotaging the government’s efforts. They tell us how tankers of fuel are being diverted or smuggled out to neighbouring countries.  Even recently when the current fuel scarcity refused to go away and the trade unions in the oil industry said we should be prepared to live with the scarcity till March-end, the corporation’s reaction was to inundate us with the number of cargoes that were either waiting  at the ports loaded with petroleum products, etc., as if that was the answer to the scarcity, or as if the unions did not know what they were saying. It is not that sometimes, marketers do not play funny, their activities alone cannot account for the scarcity.

    Anyway, we now know better. If the unions had said we should expect a regular supply of petroleum products from month-end, the man who should know has come to clarify that we even have to wait longer for this to happen. NNPC’s spokespersons would do better if they do not try to amend the truth as they usually do  in crisis situations.

    By implication, what the minister is saying is that, if we’ve stopped taking our mats to banks to siddon or sleep pending when the tellers would attend to us, we should not throw away those mats yet because we might still need them in our filling stations, at least for the next two months in the first instance; that is ceteris paribus. This is neither to incite nor to indict anyone; it is just the grim truth that we must face after the colossal damage done to the country’s economy, the oil sector inclusive. I guess this is what the NNPC thought was embarrassing, hence, its attempt to do what it knows how to do best, by saying their boss was misinterpreted. I wonder why the corporation’s spokespersons, like the leopard, would never change their spots. They seem to forget that, as Pinoy Rap Radio says, “Tell a lie once and all your truths will become questionable.” They should even attempt to tell the truth once. When debunking the stories in the media on what the minister said, the corporation, unlike the minister, did not put a time frame to when the fuel queues will disappear. Rather, it talked of some weeks from now. What does this mean, compared to the minister’s assertion that “…I will expect that over the next two months, we should see quite frankly a complete elimination of this (fuel queues)”?

     Dr Kachikwu however touched a vital point which would be the second such points he would be touching since the administration came on board in May, last year. He spoke about strategic reserve. It is unfortunate that Nigeria has not given this a serious consideration for years. Towards this end, whatever is produced in the country’s  refineries will not be sold but kept in strategic reserves because, as he noted, the major problem is that there is no reserve anytime there is a gap in supply. I cannot remember since when I have been hearing about America’s oil reserves. Anyway, it is better late than never. This is a good idea because to do otherwise would continue to expose the country to the vagaries of the international oil market. We don’t have to start sneezing immediately  there is a slight challenge in the international oil market.

    The second major point that the minister made has to do with local refineries. Until early this month, the government appeared to have kept mum on this issue to the extent that one would not be wrong to say it seemed comfy with importation. “We are working with JV partners who can come into the refinery area; we have advertised recently for co-located refineries, asking for people to come and co-locate brand new refineries, coupled into our refinery premises and they can share pipelines and tankages.

    “We are working hard to see if we can complete the refineries we are trying to do with JV partners within the next 12 to 18 months. For the co-located refineries which are the new ones, we are targeting to see that we are able to complete those over a period of two to three years. If we do that, we will have excess capacity of refined products and we’ll begin to look at export market.”

    Naturally, Labour unions and manufacturers are agitated that two months is too long a time to make Nigerians stop spending eternity at filling stations. To an extent, they have a point. Those who have been bearing the brunt of the epileptic fuel supply, particularly since January when the present round began, have every cause to complain. It is unfortunate that Nigerians, whose country is a major crude oil producer, have to suffer this type of anguish. But the oil sector is not the only place where we, like the children of bad and irresponsible meat sellers, are forced to be grateful for having bones to eat.

    All said, Nigerians should give the minister benefit of the doubt if that would make the difference. Maybe I am of this opinion because I do not expect quick fix to many of the country’s challenges, given the monumental damage done to the economy before the advent of the present government. Matters have been complicated by the lack of foreign exchange occasioned by the fall in crude prices and massive corruption, the stories of which we are hearing without end till date. However, if the government keeps faith with its promise, things should begin to ease in the sector soon, especially if the local refineries are able to produce enough for the strategic reserve. We have lived from hand to mouth for too long, with regard to fuel supply. We need something to fall back on whenever there is crisis in the supply chain.

    My joy in all of these is that we are now having targets to hold the Muhammadu Buhari government accountable to in the oil sector. The government has given itself targets on when fuel queues will end, latest; it has also told us that new refineries are under way and that in about 18 months from now, we would start to feel their impact. This means we are no longer left to grope in the dark. I think this should suffice for now.

  • Fuel scarcity to persist till May, says Kachikwu

    Fuel scarcity to persist till May, says Kachikwu

    There is no solution in sight to fuel scarcity, it was learnt yesterday.

      This was the outcome of the closed meeting President Muhammadu Buhari had with leaders of trade unions in the oil sector in Abuja.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu briefed State House correspondents after the meeting.

    He said the meeting was held to promote peace and harmony in the oil sector.

    Asked when fuel queues will disappear, Kachikwu said: “One of the trainings I did not receive is that of a magician but I am working hard to ensure some of these issues go away.

    “And let’s be honest; for the five, six months we have been here, NNPC has moved from a 50 per cent importer of products to basically a 100 per cent importer. And the 445 barrels that allocated cover between 50 and 55 per cent importation.

    “So, it’s quite frankly sheer magic that we even have the amount of products at the stations. We are looking to see how to get foreign exchange input. The President and I discussed extensively on how to get more crude directed at importation.

    “The President will rather have less crude but have individuals in the society suffer less with inconveniences than have more crude and have them continue to suffer. So, we are going to put a new model to enable us increase the pace and get majors as part of the crew of those to bring in more products, so NNPC can go back to its capacity and the majors will take over the balance of importation.”

    Continuing, he said: “I think if we do that although I don’t want to put a time frame, I will expect that over the next two months. Of course, you are aware the DSAP programme begins in April so over the next two months we should see a complete elimination of this.

    “Our strategy is that whatever is produced in the refineries will not go for sale, we are going to keep it in strategic reserve.

    “Because the key problem here is that there is no reserve; anytime there is a gap in supply it goes off.”

    According to him, the next couple of months will be dedicated to moving products produced to strategic reserve.

    He said: “So that we can pile up reserves and push up the reserves in the nation. Believe me, this is giving me and my team sleepless nights and we are working on it and we are committed to making this go away. Nigerians should please bear with us.

    “The meeting with the President was basically to review  some concerns he is trying to find solutions and share thoughts.

    “As you know, the President has too many constituencies; first will be politics, second, army and the third, the oil industry. So, matters of this nature touch his heart. And this is the first opportunity that the unions have had to spend time with him as a father.

    “So we shared thoughts, areas of concerns and some potential solution and agreed to work together.”

    Asked to list the concerns shared with the President, the minister said: “I will probably highlight a few areas. The PIB, the union wants us to work harder and try to get the PIB passed soon. They are worried about the fuel scarcity and want to finally resolve this issue.  They are worried about the refineries and are thankful we didn’t sell the refineries without looking to work with them to see how to make the refineries work.

    “They are worried about the utilisation of depots and how best to do that, they are worried about all kinds of issues plaguing the oil industry.

    “They are worried about job loss in the sector arising from the position of majors, who feel the economy is giving rough ends of the sticks and then try to whittle down staff. And so we are going to be working with the oil majors to ensure that we do not experience the kind of job loss that we are hearing has the potential to occur in the sector.”

    The President, he said, also urged the unions to be agents of change within the areas they work.

    “A lot of these problems that are on the table were quite frankly there when we came and we are doing the best our to work on them. But we are looking to collaborate, those were the assurances.”

     National President of Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Igwe Achese said that the union was satisfied with deliberations at the meeting.

    He said: “We had a successful meeting, quite interesting in terms of the emotional attachment of Mr. President on the issue of oil and gas sector and the challenges we are facing.

    “We tabled the issue of fuel scarcity, the quick passage of the PIB and to see how the sector will bounce back economically.

    “Clearly, we talked more on corruption in the oil and gas sector, product allocations. Mr. President assured us that NUPENG and PENGASSAN (Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria) will continue to be part of the restructuring he will make, and ensure scarcity is reversed.”

    President of PENGASSAN Comrade Olabode Francis Johnson said the President was emotionally attached to the oil sector and wanted everything in NNPC to follow due process.

    He said: “We had a successful meeting, and one of the highlights was when he said he created the NNPC and he is emotionally attached to it and that everything going to happen in NNPC must follow due process.”

  • NNPC restructuring: Senate backs Kachikwu, Reps disagree

    NNPC restructuring: Senate backs Kachikwu, Reps disagree

    The National Assembly was split yesterday over the restructuring of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced by Minister of State Ibe Kachikwu.

    The Senate backed the action, saying restructuring of the corporation was in order, especially when no law was breached, but the House of Representatives took a contrary position.

    It declared the step taken by Kachikwu as wrong. “The House is not averse to any form of reform that would reposition the NNPC, but due process must be followed by the executive by reverting to the National Assembly for such reforms,” House spokesman Abdulrazak Namdas said at a news conference.

    The senators, who okayed the step, nevertheless, scolded Kachikwu for his failure to consult the National Assembly before carrying out the reorganisation.

    Three standing committees of the Senate grilled Kachikwu on the motive of his action.

    Senator Tayo Alasoadura, Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Jibrin Barau and Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, conducted the session, which later moved into a closed session.

    Alasoadura told reporters after the closed session that they were satisfied with the measures taken by the minister whose objective is to make the NNPC more functional.

    The Ondo Central lawmaker added that Kachikwu did not breach any law.

    Senate Chief Whip Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central), who led the question-and-answer session, noted that the Act that established the NNPC, especially cap1, 23© 1d, gave the management a free hand to operate as an entity.

    Adeyeye said the Act, however, did not give them the power to create autonomous firms that would be independent of the NNPC.

    He also said the Act clearly stated that the affairs of the NNPC must be conducted by a board.

    A member of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North), urged the minister to go ahead with far reaching restructuring of the NNPC.

    Utazi, who stressed that change in the NNPC was long overdue, said the Minister should not mind vested interests in the oil and gas sectors who are working to compromise changes in the corporation.

    Utazi said: “Mr. Minister, you must understand the sort of resistance that would come when you want to change things. But you must continue doing what you are doing. Don’t be deterred; don’t be tired of the reforms you are carrying out.  We understand what you are doing. Just go on with what you are doing; we are behind you.”

    Another member of the Committee, Senator Biodun Olujimi, said the government must have a human face in its actions.

    Mrs Olujimi said that there was no doubt that the minister, by his action, effectively pre-empted the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    Senator Emmanuel Paulker said the minister should have carried unions in the industry along.

    Kachikwu insisted that what his ministry did was not unbundling, but restructuring.

    He also said that it was not true that the exercise was carried out without the approval of a board and the Federal Executive Council­­ – as stated in the Act.

    He said that the approval process began long ago.

    The minister said the chairman of the NNPC Board is the Minister of Petroleum.

    He said with the measures taken by the ministry, there will slightly be less control from the head office.

    He noted that other than aging equipment, the refineries, for instance, have not been given the independence they require to operate.

    Kachikwu said: “You cannot bring in loanable funds into the refineries because for you to bring loanable funds, you have to have the cash flow to fund the loan.”

    The minister said that there was already a committee of staff and management in the NNPC looking at the measures being taken by the ministry.

    But the Chairman, House Committee on Media, Namdas, said President Muhammadu Buhari must present an executive bill to give the restructuring a legal backing.

    He said: “The Act of parliament that established the NNPC had provided that there ‘Shall be the inspectorate department which shall be an integral part of the Corporation,’ but that same was conspicuously absent in the new arrangement.

    “The key word here is ‘Shall’. Of course, the law gave room for agencies to make their own laws for administrative convenience but with the ‘shall’ the agency has no power over that, which was the case here.

    “The House is not averse to any form of reform that would reposition the NNPC, but due process must be followed by the executive by reverting to the National Assembly for such reforms.”

    To emphasise the determination of the House’s support for NNPC reform, the Spokesman disclosed that Speaker Yakubu Dogara had earlier contacted President Buhari over reforms in the petroleum sector.

  • Senate summons Kachikwu over NNPC’s structure

    Senate summons Kachikwu over NNPC’s structure

    The Senate yesterday invited the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, over the announced unbundling of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

    He is to appear today at the joint session of the Senate Committees on Petroleum (Down and Upstream and Gas.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) Senator Tayo Alasoadura who endorsed the letter of invitation, said they were “shocked” and “in disbelief” over the announcement  unbundling the Corporation.

    The letter read in part, “Shocked by the announcement in disbelief, three committees overseeing the industry wish to invite the Minister to appear before them to brief them of this critical decision in a meeting schedule Thursday.”

    Alasoadura said the action was taken “without recourse to the Act establishing the NNPC and approval by the Senate of Nigeria.”

    Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume also told reporters in Abuja that the announcement of the unbundling of the Corporation has generated issues that the Senate is looking into.

  • PPMC takes extra measures to quell current fuel scarcity

     

    In response to the current fuel scarcity situation, the management of Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) in line with the honourable minister of state for petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu’s effort  to provide an effective intervention, has flooded Abuja with 31 high capacity trucks; each with approximately 60,000 litres. Another 25 is expected tomorrow.

     

    The 31intervention trucks that have arrived the city of Abuja have been deployed to areas of need. This is made possible by reason of the partnership between NNPC Retail and Capital Oil and Gas. In addition, 150 trucks have been provided by A. A. Rano, Azman, and Rahamaniyya.

     

    According to the MD, PPMC, Mrs. Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, these interventionist efforts will continue until the queues dissipate.

     

    Furthermore, despite not being a regulator, PPMC has made an extra effort to curb the effect of the fuel crisis on the general public by deploying staff to petrol stations across Abuja for round-the-clock monitoring.

     

    It is believed that with these measures, normalcy will return to Abuja and its environs in no time. Motorists are therefore advised for the umpteenth time not to engage in panic buying as this will encourage the activities of hoarders. They are also advised to be vigilant and to report any observed sharp practices and other identified areas of need.

     

    We have obtained PPMC’s Twitter and Facebook accounts for citizens’ reportage and eye witness accounts as follows: @ppmc_ngr, www.ppmc_ngr/facebook.com.

  • OPEC plans Russia meeting for output cut, says Kachikwu

    OPEC plans Russia meeting for output cut, says Kachikwu

    • Targets $50/bbl oil

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has said some members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are planning to meet other oil producers in Russia by March 20 for new talks on oil output freeze.

    Kachikwu who fielded questions from reporters in Abuja, expressed optimism that the meeting would spark a dramatic reaction in crude prices up to $50 per barrel (bbl).

    Nigeria has been pushing for action by OPEC because the slump in oil revenue has undercut its public finances and currency, leaving the government struggling to pay civil servants, Reuters said.

    He said: “We’re beginning to see the price of crude inch up very slowly. But if the meeting that we’re scheduling, it should happen in Russia, between the OPEC and non-OPEC producers, happens about March 20, we should see some dramatic price movement.

    “Both the Saudis and the Russians, everybody is coming back to the table. I think we’re very humbled today to accept that if we get to a price of $50, it will be celebrated. That’s a target that we have.”

    The Russian Energy Ministry said it was ready for talks but the date and venue had yet to be agreed. “Currently, various options about the venue and date for the meeting, where measures on oil market stabilisation due to be discussed, are being worked out,” it said in a statement.

    OPEC and Russia are still to persuade Iran to join the output cut deal.