Governors yesterday expressed concerns over the ownership, assets and liabilities of the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Their concern raised during a virtual National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, came barely a month after the one-time government-run conglomerate transformed into private entity.
According to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Office in the Vice President’s Office, Mr. Laolu Akande, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, had presentated updates on crude oil production, petrol supply situation and security intervention against oil theft to the Council.
Following the reservations raised by the governors, the NEC resolved and the Vice President directed that a sub-committee of the Council be set up to consider the governors’ concerns and liaise with the federal government on such concerns.
The NEC also endorsed a report on the 2021 financial performance of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), commending the board and management for a credible performance despite the challenging economic atmosphere.
The Council had received briefings from the Managing Director of the NSIA, Uche Orji, who, in his presentation said that the NSIA closed the 2021 financial year with a profit after tax of N153.8 billion, slightly down 1.9 per cent from 2020. (2020: N156.5 billion).
According to him, total comprehensive income declined marginally in 2021 by 8.2 per cent to close the year at N147.0 billion (2020: N160.1 billion).
He said: “The NSIA has reached major milestones across domestic infrastructure in the year under review in terms of projects such as motorways, agriculture, healthcare, technology, gas industrialization and others.”
The NEC equally approved the presentations made by Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Otunba Niyi Adebayo and the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Jumoke Oduwole on System Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) programme.
The recommendation for the set-up of SABER’s National Steering Committee, comprising PEBEC and the NG SABER Ad hoc Committee to be chaired by the vice president was approved.
The Council got briefings from both the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
