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Tag: Kachikwu

  • How to solve downstream oil challenges, by Kachikwu

    How to solve downstream oil challenges, by Kachikwu

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday, said appropriate pricing of petroleum products, fixing existing refineries and encouraging private investors to build new ones are some of the ways to permanently address the challenges in the downstream oil sector.

    He however warned that care must be taken to ensure that people are not made to suffer unduly while attempting to review the prices of petrol and other commodities.

    Kachikwu, who spoke at the ongoing Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja, said: “Ultimately, the greater challenge that this country would have and still has is that of pricing.

    “Everybody wants power, available gas and freely delivered fuel with no queues, but people are not willing to make the sacrifices that are essential for these things to happen.

    “Sometimes, it is a pricing issue. We have got to get to a point where we got to deal with some of these issues in a manner that doesn’t hurt our people but at the same time create the level of efficiency as to remove arbitrages and patronages that are inbuilt in them.

    “Refineries and local production are key. We expect between 12 and 18 months corridor of construction and hopefully, at that point, we would get our refineries back. However, if we get refineries back by 2019, does that solve the problem? No, it doesn’t. You still have to deal with the pricing issues, because nobody is going to build a refinery and sell products at a loss.”

    The challenges notwithstanding, he said the Federal Government would be setting parameters and incentives for building of refineries.

    According to him, this is to ensure that a typical producer, especially the small level producers, are able to see enough incentives to be able to get some of their products refined in-country and then exported.

     

  • Fed Govt will review PSC plans to stem losses, says Kachikwu

    Fed Govt will review PSC plans to stem losses, says Kachikwu

    The Minister of State for Petroleum resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has warned oil companies against bogus projects that do not add value to the economy.

    The minister said the Federal Government would review the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement of oil production because the nation had lost huge revenue under the current arrangement.

    Kachikwu, who was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company, among others, spoke during his visit to Total’s Egina floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) at the SHI-MCI Ladol shipyard in Lagos.

    The FPSO berthed there so that integration of six modules of the vessel’s topside fabricated in Nigeria would be carried out.

    Kachikwu said: “When I joined the current administration, price of oil was very low but we began to move the mantra and OPEC was able to curb production. I’m happy today that the efforts have yielded substantial results and the figures have gone from low $20s to very high $60s and hit 70, hopefully we can get back there. What that does is that companies that invested and took the risk like Total did, and continued the trend during that period, this is the time to hopefully reap from that. Oil is never going to be $100 a barrel again except there is a huge calamity in the any major part of the world. So, we are likely going to stay in the frame of $60 to $70 per barrel.

    “But even at, it is huge movement coming from where we were. But what this means, is that Nigeria will begin to look at its priorities differently. We will begin to look at what is the next value for the country in these huge projects. We are not as a country very impressed with a lot of the PSCs that we have put together. We lose a lot of money in the process. We will like to see a lot of movement in those areas.

    “Another issue is rationing of production. I have done everything I can to make you people (oil firms) produce under OPEC and played all kinds of jingles around it but at some points you catch up with me. But as you begin to ration those numbers, we will begin to pay more emphasis on where we make more money that is fair. As you look at your numbers and the terms under which you want to develop these fields, please spend a good amount of time in checking the bottomline and what goes to federation account.

    “There is no need building a huge $70 billion facility without commensurate value addition. Those kinds of things wouldn’t happen anymore. So the terms will change and basis on which you will proceed will change, but Nigeria will continue to be a prolific economic return model for any country in the world in terms of oil production and we will improve our speed and the terms and make sure the oil companies get away from here with a huge amount of reward. We will make sure that the local content will continue to build the service and it is one of agencies I’m proud of.”

    He praised Total and partners for a job well done. “Six modules were fabricated in Nigeria by Nigerians. It was a fantastic piece of work. It serves as a very unique benchmark. So congratulations Total not just for the feat and this piece of engineering but for the psychological boost and urgency it puts into anybody who looks at this,” he added.

  • Reps summon Kachukwu, Baru over subsidy payment

    Reps summon Kachukwu, Baru over subsidy payment

    The House Representatives on Wednesday invited the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru and the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Abdulkadir Umar, to appear before its committees over alleged fuel subsidy payment by NNPC.

    The trio will appear before the House Committees on Finance and Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to explain the current subsidy payment on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Corporation.

    The lawmakers also advised the Federal Government to make provision for subsidy payment in the 2018 Appropriation Bill, should it deem it neccesary to continue subsidy payment under any guise whatsoever.

    The decision followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance presented by Sunday Karimi (PDP, Kogi).

    He noted that despite the announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, NNPC still makes subsidy payment.

    Karimi said there is a need to ascertain the recipients of the latest subsidy payment since NNPC is the sole importer of fuel into the country.

    He said: “In December 2017, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Petroleum Minister (State), Kachukwu both admitted that the current landing cost of petrol is N171 per litre despite the fact that the federal government has pegged official rate at N145 per litre at the moment.

    “What this means is that it is the NNPC that is paying for the cost or deferential of N26 per litre, despite the fact that the Federal Executive Council has posited that it has removed petroleum subsidy and there is no parliamentary appropriation for subsidy payment in the 2017 Appropriation Act.

    “It should be noted that earlier in January 2017, NNPC conceded that fuel subsidy has returned because between January and March 2017 alone, NNPC recorded as ‘under recovery’ of N46.86 billion.

    “This trend continued at an increasing rate all through 2017. As at 2017 December, over N300 billion has been expended on petrol subsidy for 2017 alone, this trend continues to date.

    “We are all aware that ‘under recovery’ in downstream petroleum marketing implies that expected open market price of PMS, which includes the cost of importation and distribution of the commodity such as marketers margins, landing costs and freight cost is below the approved retail price.”

     

  • Senate panel to grill Kachikwu, Baru, others over subsidy payments

    Senate panel to grill Kachikwu, Baru, others over subsidy payments

    The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) will on Thursday grill stakeholders in the Petroleum sector on subsidy payment being allegedly paid to some individuals and corporate bodies through the back door.

    Specifically, the Senate panel has picked holes in claims by Petroleum marketers and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, that the landing cost for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is N171 while domestic pump price for the product is N145.

    Briefing newsmen at the National Assembly yesterday, the chairman of the Senate Downstream Petroleum committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa, raised questions on who pays the difference of the N26 in the landing cost of N171 against the pump price of N145.

    Marafa said there are indications that a subsidy of N26 is being paid on every litre of petrol sold in the country and wondered who has been paying the subsidy.

    Marafa said: “If there is subsidy payment, then who approved it and how much has been paid out as subsidy so far? If you want to provide subsidy, it should come through the National Assembly, but we have not received any request for subsidy payment from the executive arm.”

    Stating that about N10 trillion has been paid out as subsidy, Marafa lamented that stakeholders in the Petroluem industry, particularly the NNPC, have not been transparent in the running of the sector.

    Marafa said these are some of the issues the Minister of State for Petroluem Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Baru and others will be made to explain to Nigerians at the January 4 hearing.

    “We are going back to the same circle where only a few persons benefit from subsidy payment at the expense of the Nigerian people,” Senator Marafa said.

    The Senate committee chairman vowed to expose government officials involved in the illegal subsidy payment at the scheduled public hearing, stressing that there was never a time any request for subsidy payment was brought before the National Assembly for approval.

    Baru had, last week, announced that petrol is being subsidised to the tune of N26 per litre; a claim that was earlier made by petroleum product marketers.

    The NNPC boss had also claimed that the product was being smuggled across the country’s land borders owing to price disparity that exists between Nigeria and its neighbouring countries.

    According to him, insurance and freight price of PMS is $620 per metric ton, insisting that at N305 to a dollar for importers, the landing cost translated to N171 per litre.

    Marafa regretted that the same administration which claims to be fighting corruption in the oil industry is being seen to be involved questionable subsidy payments.

    Continuing, the lawmaker said: “This happened in the past and we fought against it. Why is it still happening now? We will look at the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase (DSDP) system introduced by this government to replace the swap system of the last administration.

    “The crisis associated with sourcing of foreign exchange by marketers will also be looked into during the open investigation.

    “The Senate believes that there is complacency by some people who should carry out some responsibilities. Hoarding would not have taken place if some of these officials did what they should do.

    “There are sharp practices in the sector that must be stopped. We don’t want to go back to subsidy regime again because it had made the nation to lose some N10 trillion in the past.

    “They want to take us back to the subsidy regime that has never been beneficial to ordinary Nigerians across the country. We cannot go back to such scam called subsidy regime, which robbed the country of N10 trillion between 2006 and 2016”.

     

  • Kachikwu: Nigeria can maximise OPEC’s exemption with low production cost

    Kachikwu: Nigeria can maximise OPEC’s exemption with low production cost

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said Nigeria can make the most of her exemption from oil production cap agreed by member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries, by working hard to reduce the cost of producing a barrel of oil from her fields.

    At the OPEC-member countries’ 173rd meeting in Vienna, and the third meeting of the OPEC and  non-OPEC allies where a decision was made to extend the oil production cut, Kachikwu explained that Nigeria was losing its competitiveness among other oil producers with its high production cost.

    According to him, the country produced oil at between $23 and $24 per barrel, and that it was not competitive compared to other producers, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. He noted that this would have to come down for her to maximise the output exemption.

    “The next battle for me is cost, because at the end of all these, it doesn’t matter what the volumes are if we do not get our cost to a point that is reasonable and comparative to the high performing OPEC members – Saudi Arabia, and Iran, it doesn’t matter what numbers anybody gives us, we are blowing it, and that is why you see me shouting all the time about cost,” Kachikwu said.

    He further said: “I will have to work with the NNPC, all the parastatals and oil companies to keep driving those numbers down because quite frankly, even if I have a million barrels and I am producing at $15 a barrel, if you do a simple calculation, you will find out that your returns are about as good as you doing two million barrels and producing at $30 a barrel.

    “So, cost is key for us to enjoy the benefits of the exemptions that we have. We have come down from an all-time of $28-29, and now about $23-24, but that is nowhere near where we should be. We need to be edging towards $18-15, and that is going to be the big work for next year.”

    The minister also talked about the government’s plans for the sector in 2018, indicating that other than driving down production costs, development of gas would take a priority position in its itinerary for the industry.’’

    He explained: “We have our eyes on gas, and have passed the gas policy at the FEC. We just passed the gas commercialisation programme, we are focused very heavily on gas.’’

  • OPEC to impose ‘soft target’ on Nigeria, says Kachikwu

    OPEC to impose ‘soft target’ on Nigeria, says Kachikwu

    Minister of State (Petroleum) Ibe Kachikwu yesterday hinted of plans by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to impose some kind of “soft” targets on Nigeria and Libya on the basis of their average production this year.

    He was quoted by Financial Times  as saying on the sidelines of the ongoing OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria that OPEC was discussing “soft targets” of around 1.8 million bpd for Nigeria and 1 million bpd for Libya, and talks continued on how to phrase those numbers as “indicative” and not include them as hard targets in the final OPEC statement.

    Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said OPEC is bringing Libya and Nigeria- the exempt members – into the fold with contributions to the efforts to erase the oversupply. He said the two African producers had agreed to cap their production at a collective level of less than 2.8 million bpd.

    A delegate told Reuters that OPEC talks ended in Vienna with an agreement to extend the production cut deal through the end of 2018.

    Going into the meeting, OPEC was expected to review the production numbers and targets of Libya and Nigeria, but, according to sources and analysts, it was uncertain whether the cartel would impose quotas or caps on the two African producers due to the still-tentative recovery and possible return of sudden outages due to militancy.

    Still, some kind of ‘loose’ or ‘soft’ targets were being aired as a possible outcome.

    Even though Libya and Nigeria have higher production targets than the recent highs of their production at 1 million bpd and 1.8 million bpd,  they face security, technical, and financial constraints in growing production much higher.

    Still, the fact that the two African countries agreed to cap at recent highs, not at the higher production targets, is a significant sign that they have been asked or persuaded to contribute to the deal, at least in some form.

    OPEC and its partners, including Russia, agreed to extend oil-production cuts to the end of 2018 and included Libya and Nigeria in the deal for the first time.

    Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi confirmed the decision after a day of talks that reflected a rare consensus between members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies. All agreed that the market is moving in the right direction, but is not yet balanced.

    After some initial hesitation, Russia supported the accord that will result in nations accounting for more than half the world’s oil supply restraining output for two years.

    Russia had previously sought assurances on how and when the agreement would be phased out, people involved in negotiations said earlier this week. The country needs greater clarity than most OPEC members because its economic policy making is more complex, including a floating exchange rate that fluctuates with the oil price.

    It will be premature to talk about an exit strategy because OPEC and its allies are relying on oil demand in the third quarter of 2018 to finally eliminate the inventory surplus, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said before the meeting. But the kingdom is open to discussions about how the group could wind down the cuts “very gradually” once its goals are achieved, he said.

    OPEC ministers didn’t have a detailed discussion about the mechanism that will be used to review the deal in June, Zanganeh told reporters. He also said Nigeria and Libya had agreed to a collective output cap of 2.8 million barrels a day. Nigeria pumped 1.73 million barrels a day in October and Libya 980,000 a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

     

    Senate shifts MTEF passage

    The Senate yesterday postponed till Tuesday, the passage of Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which covers 2018 to 2020.

    The postponement followed a motion by Senate LeaderAhmed Lawan.

    The upper house agreed to step down the MTEF document until Tuesday when it would have known the OPEC benchmark.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary, urged lawmakers to support the motion to enable the Upper Chamber to take informed decisions.

  • Kachikwu: govt eyes more oil, extra $9b yearly, others

    Kachikwu: govt eyes more oil, extra $9b yearly, others

    The Federal Government plans to increase oil output from two million barrels per day (bpd) to between 2.2 and 2.3 million bpd, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said.

    He also said the government would begin the implementation of some fiscal policies to generate about $2 billion yearly in the short term and $9 billion in the long term.

    Kachikwu made this known in a podcast in Abuja. According to him, the Federal Government has achieved a lot in the past two and half years, adding that following the launch of the #7BigWins by President Muhammadu Buhari, some outstanding deliverables have been accomplished.

    He said: “Between 2015 and 2016, the government focused on delivering zero fuel availability challenges. We made sure that fuel scarcity and long queues disappeared and we have been able to continue with that. We thank the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for continuing on that delivery.

    “We have been able to exit cash call system. For the first time, the multinational oil firms have begun to have belief in the need to invest in the country. The amount of investment from the Joint Venture international oil companies (IOCs) is in excess of between $14 billion and $15 billion. The multi-nationals have begun to have confidence that the system is working. The Zabazaba and Bonga extension projects are testaments to the investments.

    “The NNPC has opened its books to be as transparent as possible. It is not just about NNPC, other parastatals are doing wonderful works. Openness has been achieved here.”

    On the Niger Delta region, Kachikwu said:“The Petroleum Ministry is working with the Vice President, the Niger Delta Ministry, the security forces and the Presidency to further deepen engagement in the region. We are still doing more work to bring calm and stability to the region.

    “By end of the year, we plan to implement our petroleum and gas policies, bring out industry regulations and hold industry reward in December. The reward is to those players, who have been exceptional such as low cost operators, those that brought some unique IT projects, those that worked under very challenging conditions and delivered good barrels on the table, downstream players that have delivered good deliverables and infrastructure.

    “We will also launch ‘Project 100.’ Get small and big firms and bring them to the finish line by finding the difficulties they have, incentives they need, how do they create work and energise the sector?

    “We will also implement our fiscal policies waiting for approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). When approved and implemented, they will be expected to generate $2 billion earnings in a year in the short term and about $9 billion yearly in the long term. So, we are working with the National Assembly to transmit it into legislative provision.

    “For 2018 and 2019, we expect to rehabilitate the refineries, stop importation of products, among others,” Kachukwu said.

  • Osinbajo meets Kachikwu, Baru at Aso Villa

    Osinbajo meets Kachikwu, Baru at Aso Villa

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru.

    Both of them are at daggers drawn over the allegation by the minister that the NNPC GMD authorised $25 billion contracts without following due process. He also accused him of insubordination.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, Kachikwu said: “It is a meeting on the upstream, a normal typical meeting. It was largely AGIP bringing some information to the Vice President on where they have been in terms of Okpai, in terms of  Zabazaba Deepwater oilfield, in terms of the cash call exit, which they are doing with NNPC, basically updating him, asking for areas where they need some assistance from government officials to sort of fast-track. It was a normal upstream meeting.”

    Asked if the GMD was part of the meeting, Kachikwu said: “Definitely, of course.”

    On the extent the issue of cash call was discussed, he said: “Yes, we did only to the extent that a few completion items on NNPC, largely the opening up of the escrow accounts and that type of stuff which they need to fasten up on.

    “But we are far gone on that. Installment payments are already going on, I think NNPC is undertaking by October or early next month to complete that whole process. So, it is going on very well.”

  • Osinbajo, Kachikwu, Baru meet in Villa

    Osinbajo, Kachikwu, Baru meet in Villa

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday met behind closed doors on oil upstream issues involving the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru.
    Kachikwu, in a leaked letter to President Muhammadu Buhari had accused Baru of awarding $25 billion contracts without following due process.
    Speaking with State House correspondences after the meeting, Kachikwu said: “Its a meeting on upstream meeting, a normal typical meeting. It was largely AGIP bringing some information to the Vice President on where they have been in terms of Okpai, in terms of  Zabazaba Deepwater oilfield, in terms of the cash call exit which they are doing with NNPC, basically updating him, asking for areas where they need some assistance from government officials to sort of fastrack. It was normal upstream meeting.
    Asked if the GMD was part of the meeting, Kachikwu said “Definitely, of course.”
    On the extent the issue of cash call was   discussed,  he said “Yes we did only to the extent that a few completion items on NNPC, largely the opening up of the escrow accounts and that type of stuff which they need to fasten up on.
    “But we are far gone on that, instalmental payments are already going on, I think NNPC is undertaking by October or early next month to complete that whole process. So it is going on very well.
    Asked if petrol price will come down before Christmas because of improvement of revenue, he said “I will like the GDM who does the commercial aspect to comment on that, I will need his position before I can even comment on that.”

  • Kachikwu/Baru diatribe

    Perusing the response of Group Managing Director of the NNPC (GMD-NNPC), Maikanti Baru to allegations against him by Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu shows clearly that the matter cannot be resolved in the court of public opinion.

    With yawning gaps and inability to address some of the substantive issues to the letter, an independent inquiry is the way to get at the root of the matter. Since Baru’s response following President Buhari’s directive raised new issues and therefore cannot put a seal to the controversy, it became difficult to fathom how the new issues will be addressed especially in the unlikely event that Kachikwu will come public with fresh facts.

    For a man still battling suspicion of having leaked his letter to the president to the media, he will be definitely hamstrung in taking on Baru to clear some of the new issues, inaccuracies and distortions he may find in that response. The dilemma is: should Kachikwu have responded to the new issues or not? If he did, he would be adding to the credibility baggage of a government whose image was badly dented by the weighty and scandalous disclosures. It could also be construed as a further attempt to discredit the government and enough grounds to associate him with the leakage of the letter.

    If he did not, he would have played into the hands of Baru and the government especially given the attempt in some quarters to dismiss the allegations as lacking in substance. There is no doubt that the government is uncomfortable with the turn of events and would seek every avenue to fault Kachikwu. Baru himself has been busy renting support as is evidenced by the solidarity visits/support for him by labour unions in the industry even when the allegations are yet to be determined.

    And one begins to ponder what business the unions have in a matter that is still unfolding. Or is it part of the culture of division and fear the minister referenced upon in his letter?

    Apparently to unknot this dilemma and save Kachikwu the burden of allowing Baru get away with some of the gaps; inaccuracies and inability to address some of the troubling issues, associates of the minister would not let go. They have come up with searing posers to show that the issues are not as simple as Baru has made the public to believe.

    The substance of Baru’s response is that extant laws and regulations do not mandate him to consult either the minister of state or the board of the NNPC in the award of contracts. Hear him: “the law or rules do not require a review or discussion with the minister of state, or NNPC Board on contractual matters”.

    He believes that since the president combines his executive powers with that of minister of petroleum, he has no business letting Kachikwu into the running of the affairs of the organization. And since he claimed no money was lost to the organization, it is deemed all the necessary and sufficient conditions for transparency and due process has been satisfied. He armed himself with the further claim that Kachikwu followed the same process when he held forth as the GMD of the NNPC.

    Hiding under this legal angle and the fact Buhari combines the portfolio of the petroleum minister with his executive position; Baru would want to be cleared of any wrongdoing even if he loses nothing taking the minister of state and the board into confidence. Ironically, that is not all there is to the legal dimension.

    Attention has been drawn to Section 130(2), 148(1) of the constitution and Section (1) of NNPC act. This section of the constitution deals with the powers of the president. Nowhere did that section allot the portfolio of the minister of petroleum to the president. In other words, it was not intended by the framers of the constitution that the president should usurp the powers of the minister of petroleum. So Baru cannot find safe haven in the legal angle since the constitution takes precedence over and above the NNPC and Procurement Act.

    Even then, issues have been raised regarding the claim that the Tenders’ Board rather than the Board of the NNPC has the responsibility to award contracts. The technicalities of these cannot be resolve here as they should be left to a commission of inquiry. But even without apportioning blames, it is obvious that Baru made a desperate attempt to take refuge under technicalities to evade the scandal of having the tenders’ board solely appointed by him as the final authority on contractual matters without reference to NNPC board.

    The same NNPC Act also stated that “the affairs of the corporation shall be conducted by a Board of Directors of the Corporation” and has overall supervisory powers of the corporation. How possible is it then to contend that these supervisory powers preclude the award of contracts. And what interest is served by ousting the board such roles in matters of contracts running into billions of dollars? Or put differently, what does Baru stand to lose if the board is taken along in such awards? Again, is the course of due process and transparency not advanced by openness rather that secrecy?

    Baru’s contention has to be taken with a pinch of salt given that even when he sidetracked the minister of state and presented some of these to the acting president for approval, he was duly advised to clear them with the minister. But he would not have any of this. It was therefore obvious that Baru was more interested in short cuts to circumvent the prying eyes of Kachikwu in the affairs of the corporation. Such conduct cannot further transparency and due process irrespective of the legal loopholes under which he sought to take refuge. There is more to it.

    He claimed Kachikwu as the GMD of the NNPC followed the same reporting line. In this, he is economical with the truth as the situations were quite different. As at the time Kachikwu reported to the president, there was no minister of state and no board for the NNPC. So, citing the instance to justify his situation cannot hold water. At best, it is an attempt to conceal information and deceive discerning members of the public.

    But even if Baru could conveniently hide under legal technicalities on the award of such humongous contracts, what laws supported the key appointments he made without either reference to the minister of state or the NNPC board he chairs? Is it surprising that he evaded aspects of this allegation against him? The fact of this casts serious slur on whatever point he sought to make on the position of the law on the award of contracts in the corporation. And as we have seen, even his claims are still largely provisional.

    Since new facts were adduced by Kachikwu’s loyalists to throw more light to the claims in Baru’s reply, the NNPC has come forward again with new claims associating the minister with some of the contracts it awarded and other decisions of the corporation. We may yet be treated with another response from those loyal to Kachikwu and the altercation will have no end.

    That is why an independent inquiry such that the Senate has promised to initiate points to the way forward. Such a panel of knowledgeable and legal minds will have the comfort of mind to go through our laws and make recommendations that will put a check to some of the embarrassing disclosures emanating from the current controversy.

    Beyond this, it is very clear Baru was merely exploiting gaps in extant laws to run the affairs of the NNPC as a sole proprietorship. The motive cannot further the course of due process and transparency. Even if one was tempted to give him the benefit of doubt on the position of the law in the award of contracts, the fact that he sidetracked both the minister of state and the board in making the controversial key appointments exposed the duplicity of his motive. Or is it surprising that the appointments excluded the South-east in the same manner Buhari excluded the zone in the composition of the board of the corporation.

    The government might be making efforts to cover up this huge embarrassment as was with similar cases where key officials of the regime were accused of corruption. But it cannot afford to leave the weighty allegations hanging without dire consequences to its touted war against corruption.