From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A group under the auspices of National Association of Petroleum Products and Gas Consumers, (NAPGCO) has commended the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari for adopting measures to guarantee adequate fuel supply by fixing N148 per litre as the price for lifting petrol at depots.
The group, which also commended the National oil company for agreeing to supply outstanding stock to independent oil marketers to end product shortage , said, ” There is no doubt that these swift administrative responses to tackle the brewing fuel scarcity problem across the country has helped to make fuel available at filling stations”.
National Association of Petroleum products and Gas Consumers, which stated this in a statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Mohammad Ibrahim Kazaure said, the decision to commend the NNPC boss, who in few years in office has transformed NNPC into a profit making organization, reiterated that frantic efforts to tackle the problem of scarcity head-on is reasons queues are already disappearing at filling stations today.
According to the group, the greatest feat beyond making products available is the slashing of pump price ,which was the “magic wand” that help to reduce long queues at filling stations .
“We can all see that making the products available really helped to during this period did really dou sed tension over usual perennial panic that characterized the ember months , especially Christmas and New Year festive periods.
“We are glad to announce that saboteurs who profit from this have not only been frustrated ,but also have been taught a bitter lesson that with a proactive leadership and right administrative approach, it is no longer business as usual.
“There is no doubt that the increase in the national crude oil reserves to achieve the 40,000 billion barrel target through focus and commitment; efforts to revive refineries and decision to collaborate with relevant security agencies to clamp saboteurs are enough reasons to ensure and sustain steady supply of fuel across the country”.
On the overall appraisal of Mele Kyari’s led NNPCL, the group said , ” We are particularly impressed that for the first time in the history of NNPC, the company declared profit,which Kyari achieved through the area of financial transparency via the audited financial statements of the NNPC LTD.”
While urging the NNPCL boss to shun those it described as “saboteurs and enemies of Nigerians” in his passionate bid to make fuel available to the ordinary Nigerians , it noted that the decision to make public the Corporation’s Monthly Financial & Operations Reports (MFOR) in line with his Transparency Accountability and Performance Excellence(TAPE) vision placed NNPC as the only national oil company that publishes its financial and operations reports monthly globally.
It further said , Kyari’s efforts to fight oil theft has yielded results as disclosed during the Senate’s joint committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) and Gas, that “within six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized and a 4-kilometres illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea – which had been in operation undetected for nine years – detected.”
” As a group ,we appreciated that against all odds ,he was able to champion reforms in the upstream sector, sustaining oil output, boosting its subsidiary, implementing the National Gas Expansion project, AKK pipeline project, NLNG Train 7 FID, facilitating power projects, efficient crude oil lifting contract and ultimately instilling transparency in the corporation.”
The group urged the Management and staff of NNPCL to shun pressures from saboteurs,who for selfish gains would want the scarcity to linger.