Bizman Urges Major Re-Organisation Of NNPC

A Port Harcourt-based business magnate, Mr Emeka Iwezor has advocated the re-organisation of the management machinery of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure maximum and efficient performance of the commission.

Mr Iwezor who said this during an interview with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt Friday underscored the need to overhaul the entire system of the NNPC, he described as the lifework of the country.

He maintained that President Goodluck Jonathan should build the political will to remove all the management personnel of the body if the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy must strive.

According to him, “although petroleum products, particularly fuel is easily accessible at the filling stations, the NNPC, the nation’s oil pilot is yet to fulfil its obligation to the people.”

Iwezor said: “The Federal Government is not reaping the gains of the oil and gas resources I was shocked when I read that the federal government is being owed several billions of naira by the NNPC and negotiating to pay the money installmentally. Why should that happen? This shows that there is a lull or foul play in the system. So, the whole system of the company has to be overhauled and get the cartel that has held us down out of the system. It requires a strong political will to do that.”

“The Federal Government is not getting full details about the NNPC operations and activities and I put it to you that the NNPC does not give correct account of its production, it does not know the accurate amount of crude produced in Nigeria and there is no statistics to show accurately what is being produced by the various oil companies in Nigeria because the oil companies have what they call the ‘no-go-areas’ in their operations. Why the no-go-area?” he queried and emphasised the need for a fresh agreement on how the nation’s oil resources should be explored and not the 40:60 ratio.

Mr Iwezor who is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Emic Communications Limited revealed that a lot of petroleum products are being produced without the knowledge of the NNPC by some oil companies adding “they are illegally producing oil in this country without the knowledge of NNPC.”

On the planned removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, the businessman said “there is nothing wrong about the proposal and there’s nothing wrong in keeping it but the only thing and problem in this country is the insincerity of our leaders on that subsidy. If the Nigerian populace is sure that when subsidy is removed, the money accruing from it is used judiciously by our leaders, nobody will shout, nobody will talk and nobody will complain.

If you are removing the subsidy and religiously use it to provide quality education for our children, use it to improve our road network and use it to improve the security of the country, the welfare of the citizenry and health, nobody will complain. People are complaining because they are very aware that the money that will accrue from the subsidy removal will end in the pockets of our leaders and politicians,” he declared.

Iwezor who lamented the rate of corruption among Nigerian leaders said Nigerians are tired of what he described as the jumbo promise of the leaders, saying “we have heard of getting this well, getting that well and all boil down to nothing. Our leaders are corrupt. I don’t know who can take us to the area we are expecting.

Calling on President Jonathan to effect changes in the present situation of the country, he reminded him that posterity would not be happy with him if Nigerians continue to suffer under his regime, pointing out that the Niger Delta in particular and other parts of the country are watching to see what he has for them after giving him their mandate at the 2011 presidential poll.

Shedie Okpara