Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has said that for Nigeria to avoid more wasteful years of non-performing public assets in the oil sector, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited must come up with creative ways for optimal performance.
Vanguard reported that the Speaker stated this when he received the management of the NNPCL, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja, on Thursday.
Abbas, while commending the NNPCL for taking full advantage of the Petroleum Industry Act to maximise its commercial potentials, decried the state of Nigeria’s refineries such as the one in Kaduna, which he said had been moribund for over 20 years, even though the staff were maintained, paid and promoted.
He described the situation as inefficiency and waste of human resources that needed to be addressed.
He said: “I am from Kaduna, and the Kaduna refinery has been moribund for more than 20 years. I know of people working there, who have been idle all these years receiving salaries and promotions. This is inefficiency of a worrisome proportion. The company needs to seek creative ways to repurpose staff strength in such facilities to areas where they can remain productive even in the absence of crude oil at the refineries.”
The Speaker called for measures to turn around the losses suffered by the economy, owing to the non-productive state of the refineries, by privatising them for better management and productivity.
He congratulated the company for redirecting gains of subsidy removal to other productive areas of enhancement that were now adding value to the system as shown by the quantum leap being reported in its revenue profile as presented by the Chief Executive.
He said the 10th House, and by extension the National Assembly, would fully be behind the company in its fight against oil theft, disclosing that the House has taken the lead in creating a Special Committee on Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism, which was inaugurated on Wednesday.
Earlier, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari, highlighted the areas of improvement in the company using the instrument of the PIA.