Legislators extol NNPC on transparency in financial reporting, gas projects

*The Senate is proud of the AKK, and some of your other projects, says James Manager, Chairman of Nigerian Senate Committee on Gas

*We are optimistic that NNPC will declare dividends to Nigerians at end of 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19 pandemic ─Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of NNPC

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The Nigerian Senate Committee on Gas has applauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the various gas development projects the state oil corporation has undertaken, especially the Ajaokuta- Kaduna- Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project.

Senator James Manager, Chairman of the Committee, expressed satisfaction with the various gas development projects embarked the NNPC has embarked upon despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s oil and gas industry.

Dr. Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, in a statement said the Federal lawmaker noted this during the 2021 Budget Defence and Performance Appraisal meeting with officials of the Corporation which held at the National Assembly (NASS) Complex, in Abuja, FCT.

Senator Manager said: “We are proud of the AKK and some of your other projects.”

According to him, the interface between the Committee and the NNPC would have been more frequent, but for the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He reassured the Corporation that his Committee on Gas would undertake an oversight visit to the projects for proper assessment soon.

Senator Albert Akpan Bassey, a member of the Senate Committee and immediate past Chairman of Committee on Gas, stated that the NNPC under the leadership of Malam Mele Kyari has taken the Corporation to a new height by publishing the 2018 and 2019 Audited Financial Statements, and for reducing losses by over 95 percent.

Malam Kyari (4th from Left) with some members of the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC), in Abuja

Bassey said: “I want to commend the team led by the present GMD, a team of dedicated and passionate Nigerians.

“If they can reduce losses drastically within such a short time, I am sure the next report will reveal huge profit to the country. We must give them our support and cooperation.”

Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, earlier in his presentation, had attributed the success of the Corporation in the gas sector to the support and cooperation of the Committee and the entire Legislature.

Represented at the forum by Engr. Yusuf Usman, Chief Operating Officer (COO) on Gas and Power, Kyari disclosed that gas supply to power has improved significantly, which he said was evident in the improved power supply currently being witnessed in the country.

The COO stated: “We have significant gas in the network currently, but the challenge however, is transmission.”

On the AKK pipeline project, Engr. Usman told the lawmakers that it was designed to supply 2billion cubic feet of gas per day (2bcfd), stressing that it would be the primary source of gas for the power plants currently being developed in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.

ConsumerConnect reports the NNPC GMD, meanwhile, has revealed that he is optimistic that the Corporation will declare dividends in 2020 in spite of the challenges posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Kyari spoke at an interactive session with the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) in Abuja, Friday, November 20, 2020.

“Our vision is that NNPC will become a company of excellence and declare dividends to Nigerians and shareholders.

“We are optimistic that at the end of 2020, NNPC will declare dividends to Nigerians in spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

He stated that accountability and transparency are key to turning NNPC into an efficient and profit-oriented enterprise.

The GMD explained what informed the decision of the corporation to publish its operational and financial reports monthly, as he said that “NNPC has never published its audited financial statement in 43 years.

“We came and started doing that and released the 2018 financial statement which showed that NNPC lost N803 billion.”

He added: “We were not afraid of doing that and there were a lot of criticisms that we lost money in refinery operations and pipeline business.

“We went ahead and published the 2019 audited report and was able to learn and cut cost and became more efficient.

“There is no company in the country which has cut its losses within one financial year by N800 billion.

According to him, “that means we reduced 97 percent of our losses by cutting our cost and improving our efficiency.”

The NNPC was able to maintain its obligations to the Federation Account for seven months without fail despite the huge impact of Coronavirus on the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.