By Ignatius Ushie
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving the Corporation’s Management free-hand to deliver on its mandate, saying that he remains the only President that has never interfered in the operations of the Corporation.
In a statement made available to Transport Day in Abuja, Mallam Kyari made this assertion in Sokoto while delivering the Usman Dan Fodiyo University’s 2021 First Quarter Public Lecture Series titled, “Navigating Energy Transition and the Imperatives of University-Industry Collaboration.”
The NNPC Boss said the current crop of NNPC Management was so privileged to have a President who never interfered in what the NNPC does as a Corporation. According to him, “That is very unprecedented, and it has gone a long way to help us deliver on our mandate, especially the drive towards domestic gas utilization,” Kyari stated.
The GMD tasked Governments and institutions on the African continent to adopt technology and innovation to achieve energy sufficiency and its economic multiplier effect on their people. “African Governments and institutions must rise to the occasion to leverage technology and innovation to support energy sufficiency, industrialization, job creation and economic growth,” Kyari emphasized.
He revealed that the NNPC as Africa’s biggest national oil company which is already building on the convergence of new technologies and innovative business models was set to play an important role in the future of energy.
“NNPC has set the necessary machinery to lead Africa in the transition to low-carbon energy and renewables. We are taking a firm position in this transition by institutionalizing the necessary enablers for success,” he stated.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Chief Host and Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said the NNPC under the GMD was being repositioned to align with the realities of tomorrow, especially as the oil industry awaits the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly.
Governor Tambuwal also called on the current National Assembly to ensure the passage of the all-important bill, stressing that the lawmakers must not allow the efforts of the GMD and his colleagues within the industry to go in vain.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, said NNPC under Mallam Kyari has recorded remarkable strides, one of which was the tireless efforts seen in transforming the Corporation into a knowledge-driven organization through collaboration with the academia and other stakeholders.
On his part, the Vice-Chancellor of UDUS, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, who thanked the GMD for honouring the University’s invitation despite his busy schedule, said the University was open to partnership with the Corporation, especially in the area of oil exploration in the Sokoto Basin.
