As the mainstay of the national economy, the oil and gas sector has remained the strongest pillar of Nigeria’s economic superstructure. Managing this national fortune and revolutionising it has been the lot NNPC under the GCEO Malam Mele Kyari and his Exacutive Vice President/ Chief Financial Officer Mr. Umar Isa Ajiya
By Our Reporter
Nigeria collected 21 trillion nairas ($45.6 billion) from the sale of crude oil in 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The amount was up 46.41% the previous year from 14.41 trillion naira in 2021. Since the figures have been changing progressively.
The Renewed Hope of the current administration of Bola Tinubu is all-encompassing such that it will be made to cover every facet of national lives, according to the blueprint of the Federal Government.
But the key area that is in dire need of major overhaul z according to analysts, is the national economy which has suffered man-made backward slide in growth for many years. The factors that explain this serious challenge to steady economic growth has largely been associated with difficulties tackling systemic corruption.
Today, the situation has drastically taken a new turn as the administration of President Bola Tinubu has taken some bold steps with amazing speed. One of such steps, according to experts, was the facelift to Finance Act that led to the removal of major encumbrances that made economic activities, especially investment – both local and foreign. There was the relaxation of border closure that opened a window of economic opportunities for many entrepreneurs who were operating under very difficult circumstances. For many years, entrepreneurs had protested the closure of the nation’s borders.
With a more friendly economic policy on taxation and border relaxation of border restrictions, the next all-important step is for the NNPC to sustain the tempo of economic revitalisation reforms, as promoted by the GCEO of the company and his able lieutenants.
Significantly, the NNPC, in its reformist agenda, which has defied the machinations of critics over the years, is widely believed to be a game-changer.
The NNPC has broken record of identifying strategies and points of operations by oil thieves and their collaborators. The Kyari-led management also launched an unprecedented policing strategy for oil installations. The security strategy for the oil installations was widely considered by industry watchers as a spectacular game-changer. Having checked the thievery of the nation’s oil and gas fortunes, the NNPC upped the ante of its operations in the area revenue generation.
The successes recorded by the NNPC were anchored on a bold policy of transparency and accountability that wiped out the culture of ‘business as usual’ that previously permeated the oil and gas industry for decades.
A significant move that will be helpful to Tinubu’s economic reforms was how the NNPC opened window of opportunities for investing in the oil and gas sector in the manner of profit-yielding business with potentials of further boosting the nation’s economy. The entry of private enterprenuers like Alike Dangote into a partnership with the oil giant is replicating what obtains in the industry worldwide. An unbundled investment such as the NNPC now generates unbeatable revenue because of more secured oil wells, crackdown on oil thieves and cartels. This, according to industry watchers, will undoubtedly make the NNPC a more fertile soil for Nigeria’s economic revitalisation under the renewed hope mantra.
Another game-changer policy of the NNPC that will further enhance the national economy under the Tinubu Presidency is the speed with which the $2.8 bn AKK Gas Project that has now reached advanced stage. This project, according to experts, will generate unprecedented revenue in gas business both locally and internationally. The NNPC has been monitoring and evaluation the quality and pace of this project since its take-off. When completed, Nigeria will be seen emerging as a major player in the global gas business worldwide.
With a consistent culture of transparency and radical management strategy, experts believe that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu stand to gain massively from synergy with the NNPC on the economic front.
For now, all eyes are on the NNPC and the Federal Government’s “Renewed Hope” mantra. Experts believe surprises are embedded in the close collaboration of the duo.