The new Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Mele Kyari said the national oil company under his watch targets to have 40 billion barrels of crude oil reserve by 2023, while increasing daily production from the current 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3 million bpd.
Speaking shortly after taking over the reins of leadership from his predecessor, Dr Maikanti Baru, in Abuja on Monday, Kyari assured that the four major refineries across the country will become fully functional by 2023, even as he pledged to support private refineries in the country like, Dangote, to come on stream and support those owned by the government.
According to him, NNPC, under his management will engage all stakeholders to move the industry forward.
The new NNPC helmsman, who emphasized that his appointment was a divine design assured Nigerians of living above board in all his dealings.
Kyari said he would work closely with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to stamp out corrupt practices in the Corporation.
He said: “I’m privileged to be appointed and I will do my best. I’m not the most qualified or most brilliant. I only have a first degree. We’ve over 40 persons with PhD in NNPC. But it pleased God that I be appointed.
“When Dr Baru called me that I’m now the GMD, I knew the opportunity can only come from God. There’s a divine pathway to success. I’ll work with integrity. I won’t put personal interest before company’s interest.
“NNPC is owned by the federation and managed by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. We need each other to deliver. I’ve already set a target for the COOs to have 40 billion barrel crude reserve by 2023”, he said.
He also said plans were afoot to launch various ICT-driven innovations to deliver the best of services to Nigerians.
“Soon you can buy petrol online and have it delivered to your stations like you buy things from Amazon. We’re almost there. There are data you can’t disclose here but we’re working assiduously to get there. We will expand frontiers of engagements and at the end, everyone will be proud of it.
“We’ll work with IOCs, grow production, grow reserves. IOCs will do business and make reasonable money. It’ll be a win-win situation for all”, he added.
In his valedictory speech, Dr Maikanti Baru, immediate past GMD said he has sacrificed 45.6% of his terminal benefit for the corporation’s pensioners.
Baru said he lost N1.5 million to the deliberate sacrifice.
He commended the efforts of other officers who worked with him during his tenure.
Commending Isiaka Abdulrasaq, the chief financial officer of the corporation, for sharing his vision in making the earnings of pensioners better, Baru said: “You keep reminding me that I took an undertaking that our pensioners must not be handed over to other PFAs, and as such the almost N200 billion pension gap that was a good bait to stop the continuation of the closed pension fund scheme that we operate is hanging over our neck,” he said.
“PenCom was around the corner to severe us and send retirees into oblivion and consistently you drew up the programme and N198 billion was fully paid off last year and the gap is closing.
“You are able to see my vision in saying that some of our pensioners that were earning about one thousand naira because of the time they retired and some less than five thousand naira, that we should bring alms home by inviting some of those that are earning much more to do sacrifices, earn scheme, whereby to weeks ago, you were able to get most of the high earners into one room and 90% of them agreed. A serious cut had to be done in order to spread some of their earnings down to those in lower ranks.
“In NNPC, we always pay above minimum wage, and as such, we are able to convince those high earning retirees to shed off some weight and make sure that no pensioner from NNPC, from 1st of this month, earns less than N50,000 in a month.
“This was not a small sacrifice, I was the greatest victim of all these because I lost 45.6% of my terminal benefits to the sacrifice and I am also losing N1.5 million from my monthly stipend.”
At the event were representatives of Service Chiefs, other parastatals CEOs, former NNPC GMDs and staff.
Source: Nigerian NewsDirect
