Following last Monday’s announcement of his reappointment as the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and member of the Board and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, on Wednesday urged Nigerians and stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to desist from further sponsoring the issuance and publication of goodwill and congratulatory messages to celebrate him.
In a rare display of modesty, Kyari, who mid-wifed the transition of the national oil company from the NNPC into a public liability company, the NNPC Ltd, regulated under the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, made the plea following his reappointment by President Bola Tinubu.
Kyari’s reappointment followed a series of failed agitations by various interest groups for his removal from office in the wake of the new administration.
Following the transition of the NNPC, Kyari, amid a difficult operational environment, announced plans for the company to enlist in the Nigerian capital market in 2024, even as he recorded a significant milestone, by breaking a 43 year old jinx in the NNPC, by updating and publishing the 2018 Audited Financial Statement for the year ended December 31, 2018.
Under his management, the NNPC Ltd has since transformed from a loss balance sheet of over N803.9 bn in 2018 to a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N287 bn in the financial 2019 annual financial statement, and about 134.8 percent, or about N387 bn growth in profit in 2020.
For the 2021 fiscal year, PAT rose to about N674.1 bn, with profit growing by about N387 billion, or 134.8 percent, from about N287 billion in 2020. He has already promised robust returns as the company prepares to publish the 2022 financial report.
Following last Monday’s reappointment as the GCEO of the NNPC Ltd. and head of the company’s management team, along with seven Non-Executive Directors, two Permanent Secretaries, and a Chief Financial Officer, observers described the development as a mark of the confidence reposed in him by the present administration.
Since then, goodwill and congratulatory messages have been flooding the media and private media channels to celebrate the development.
However, Kyari in a statement through the company’s spokesperson and Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Femi Soneye, expressed gratitude to sponsors of the messages for their kind gesture, while pleading with others to desist from further show of enthusiasm over his reappointment.
Rather, Kyari said he was viewing this reappointment as a renewed challenge pursuant to a commitment to stabilising the oil industry and enhancing service delivery for increased revenue for the country.
“The GCEO humbly appeals to stakeholders in the oil and gas sector and fellow Nigerians to support the company under his leadership to ensure the success of its mandate. “Consequently, the GCEO kindly requests all parties concerned to refrain from issuing congratulatory messages on his reappointment,” Soneye said.
He said the GCEO also emphasised the necessity for all stakeholders’ commitment to drive revenue growth and fortify resilience for the naira and the economy.
The reconstituted Board and management of the NNPC Ltd. include Pius Akinyelure, who would perform his role as Chairman in a Non-Executive capacity. Others include the former President of the Movement of the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and one-time Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Ledum Mitee, who would serve as a Non-Executive Director of the new Board, same as Musa Tumsa, Ghali Muhammad, Mustapha Aliyu, David Ogbodo, and Eunice Thomas.
The two Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, namely Okokon Udo and Gabriel Aduda respectively were also named as members of the Board.
