Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is a big problem to Nigeria, and unless it is completely sold, it is capable of bringing the country to its knees.
The Governor who stated this while speaking on Channels Television special programme to mark the beginning of the 7th edition of the annual Kaduna Investment Summit (KADInvest 7.0), said the Federal Government has failed in the oil and gas business and should get out of the sector.
El-Rufai while speaking to the theme of the Summit “Building a Resilient Economy”, stated categorically that, since the beginning of this year, NNPCL has not brought even N20,000 to the Federation Account.
According to him, “NNPC is a big problem to Nigeria and unless we resolve it, it will bring Nigeria to its knees. It is a systemic and institutional problem, it is beyond one person.”
He said, “there is no reason why the Nigerian Government should still be in the oil and gas sector.
He said NNPC has not brought substantial revenue to the federation account this year, noting that the company isn’t adding any financial value to the country. “This year NNPC hasn’t brought N20, 000 to the federation account.”
“When I say the government should get out of oil and gas, people shouldn’t think it’s crazy, it’s not. We are living on taxes. It is PPT, royalties and income tax that is keeping this country going. Because NNPC claims that the subsidy has taken all the oil revenues, I don’t believe that. So, the government should sell everything —the oil and gas sector. I have been making this point since 1999 when I was head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). I have not changed my mind.
“The government should get out of whatever is left of electricity. Leave it to the private sector. Maintain the environment. The money will come. Nothing has changed for NNPC other than adding L to it for the limited. They are still taking our money. They are still declaring profits that we don’t see.”
Speaking further, Governor El-Rufa’i said, the sectors doing well in the Country like entertainment, telecoms, fintech and others have no government involvement.
He said, commercialization of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company notwithstanding, nothing has changed with the sector since July 2022.
He said though the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari is trying his best, the company has failed and has no business being in the sector. Adding that, “There is no reason why the Nigerian Government should still be in the oil and gas sector. It should just get out, it has failed. By every measure it has failed.”
