Peterside slams NNPCL over waste, poor business model, supports El-rufai, Sanusi
Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Atedo Peterside, has joined Kaduna State governor, Nasir Elrufai and former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in criticising state oil firm, NNPC Limited, saying the firm reels out false figures and does business in a bad way.
He also knocked the firm for the way it has kept “wasting” funds on CNN adverts.
While responding to a publication, Peterside said he agreed with the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on the bad state of the NNPC, noting that the firm’s business operations remained the same despite being recently privatised.
“I couldn’t agree more with El-Rufai. Little or nothing has changed at NNPC Limited. They should stop wasting our money on CNN adverts in which they praise themselves unconvincingly. If they did anything good, their good works will speak for them,” Peterside said.
El-Rufai had in an interview on Friday on Sunrise Daily, as part of activities lined up for the 7th edition of KADINVEST, an annual event organised by the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency, said that the federal government had failed in the oil and gas business and should “get out” of the sector. He noted that NNPCL was Nigeria’s biggest problem.
Speaking on the theme of this year’s KADINVEST, “Building a Resilient Economy,” the governor said whatever the government managed always turned out bad, unlike entertainment, telecoms, fintech and others with no government imprints.
According to him, “Nothing has changed with the commercialisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company in July 2022.”
He said though the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, was trying his best, the company had failed and had no business in the sector.
He added, “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.
“We are living on taxes. It is PPT, royalties, and income tax that are keeping this country going because NNPC claims that subsidy has taken all the oil revenues. I don’t believe that. So, the government should sell everything in the oil and gas sector. I have been making this point since 1999 when I was head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises. 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 the dividends.”
In the same vein, a former Emir of Kano and vice chairman, Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said it is “unbelievable” that Nigeria consumes 66 million litres of fuel daily as claimed by the NNPCL.
While delivering his keynote speech at the seventh edition of KadInvest, an annual event organised by the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency, Sanusi queried the supposed volume of Nigeria’s daily consumption of petrol adding that whoever the incoming president would become 2023 would first need to do a high standard audit of every penny spent on the NNPC.
He said, “In 2019, officially we were importing 40 million litres per day. In 2022 officially, we are importing 66 million per day. In three years, we have increased our petrol consumption by 50%.
“Please tell me, is it the population? Is it the number of cars? Just ask yourself if it makes sense that in three years you increase your consumption of petrol by 50%. Are we drinking petrol?
“The NNPC says we are consuming 66 million litres per day, so we are consuming more than Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire and others.
“Whoever becomes president in 2023, the first thing they should do is ask the NNPC to document and bring evidence for every dollar they took as subsidy. They must give the ships that came and we can verify from the insurance companies if those ships were in Nigeria on those dates.
“That is what the law says. There must be proof that the product came in, at the price you said you bought it, before you pay subsidy,” he added.
Share your thoughts on the story Peterside slams NNPCL over waste, poor business model, supports El-rufai, Sanasi with Online News in the comments section
