We‘re Not Criminals At NNPC – Mele Kyari Says At The Senate Hearing On Petroleum Industry

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari has said that the organisation has nothing to do with substandard importation of petroleum products into the country, just as he stressed that they are not Criminals or thieves and also not fighting or persecuting anyone.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday when he appeared before the Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central led Senate Ad- hoc Committee to Investigate the alleged Economic sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry with some critical stakeholders in the Petroleum Industry, Kyari said that as an organization, they don’t lie, they are not criminals or thieves, not fighting or persecuting anyone, not sabotaging anyone or organisation, the oil and gas industry is bleeding.

According to him, as the GCEO of the company, he has faced undue media attacks from persons doing everything to create the impression that NNPCL is sabotaging the nation’s economy adding that the oil and gas industry is bleeding and that there are things he knew but could not talk about in public until “the time comes.

“The company is faithful and will not lie to the country. He says ‘We are not criminals and we are not thieves. We will protect our dignity so we can serve this country.

Kyari said, “It is our duty to protect the overall interest of this country by the provisions of the law, Mr. Chairman. The Petroleum Industry Act, the Company and Allied Matters Act, and other enabling regulations and laws that govern the activity of the oil and gas industry. Mr. Chairman, we are not in breach of any one of them.

“Mr. Chairman, the NNPCL is a company owned by over 200 million Nigerians. And I happen to be the Chief Executive Officer of this company. And the law is clear around what the chief executive of this company will do.

“Our memorandum article of association, the Petroleum Industry Act, and all other enabling, including CAMA, which was legislated by this Honourable National Assembly. We are clear that the board and management of NNPCL must maximise value for this company, Mr. Chairman. This company cannot have negative profits for three years.

“CAMA says you can shut it down. Mr. Chairman, it is our job to protect this company. But it is also our job to protect other businesses around us. This company has grown, Mr. Chairman. We are proud to say this. From a lost company for 43 years to a profit-making company today, Mr. Chairman. Everybody believes, by sheer misinformation which my Minister has highlighted, that NNPCL is responsible for creating any economic sabotage in our country.

“Mr. Chairman, refining business is straight business. You must secure your feedstock and you must secure a market. This is basic even for NMPC refiners, we have done nothing to sabotage any domestic refinery. Any one of them. There are many of them.

“We do not lie to this country. And we do nothing to sabotage the economic interests of this country. As a matter of fact, NMPC is the economic interest of this country.

“And we understand it very, very badly. Just by the provisions of the law, and also, and I can share this with you, for me and my colleagues in the NMPC, even by conviction of faith, Mr. Chairman, we’ll do nothing. We believe there is eternal accountability, Mr. Chairman.

“Even if you don’t unravel what is happening, we know that God knows. And that God will hold us accountable. And we’re after no one. We are not persecuting nobody. We are not criminals. We are not thieves.

“We are serving our country, and we believe very, very strongly that we are faithful, loyal to this country. And that we, this Senate, and I believe this very, very strongly, that we protect our dignity, so that we can serve this country. Tomorrow will come. That tomorrow may not be on this world, but to be in the hereafter. And we believe that there is eternal accountability. And we mean, and we understand very clearly, that this President means well.”

“Secondly, and more importantly, NNPCL has nothing to do with imports of products that are substandard. It is very clear, Mr. Chairman, there are rules, there are regulators. We follow the rules. We follow the rules. Nobody will bring product into this country that doesn’t meet the specifications. If it does happen, it’s a crime. And it couldn’t have passed through any regulatory institution. It is impossible.”

Dangote speaks

Also speaking, the Dangote group disclosed that out of the 5million crude oil they got in recent time, NNPCL gave them 60%, 20% imported and 20% purchased.

The Group Chief Strategy Officer of Dangote Refinery, Aliyu Sulaiman who represented the Dangote group commended the NNPCL for making the huge supply to Dangote but added that the refinery is a baby that should be supported by all relevant stakeholders to grow and not die, adding, “We’ve produced about five million tons of petroleum products. And these petroleum products have been sold to various parts of the country. Jet has been sold in Europe since May. It’s been sent to Europe. Other products have been sent to places as far as Asia, US, Brazil, and so on. So the refinery has been making a lot of progress.

“Right now, as I said, we bought about 50 million barrels of crude. About 60% of that comes from NNPC, and we are thankful to them for their support. And we’re grateful to them for their support. About 20% of that had to be imported from outside and then 20% we purchased. Essentially, all we are asking for, and let’s be very clear, we are happy to pay fair prices. We are very happy with the price that they set.”

Similarly, the National President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) , Alhaji Abubakar Shettima in his presentation , loudly admonished the committee against monopoly in the petroleum sector, saying, “The current value chain in the downstream should be sustained to allow other investors to participate .

” NNPCL is doing its best but should please improve on supply of products to retail outlets across the country to end the incessant queue at filling stations.”

In his own remarks, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun said that the increase in the crude would stabilise the country’s foreign exchange market while expressing confidence in the leadership of the ad-hoc committee to conduct an unbiased and impartial investigation.

On his part, Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri noted that the Federal Government was committed to rehabilitating the nation’s refineries and also committed to supporting Dangote refinery, we are also supporting modular refineries and we have been resolving whatever issues they had brought to the attention of government.

Lokpobiri said, “tis one sector that is bedeviled by a lot misinformation. This senate should do Nigerians a favour by televising the proceedings of this committee life, it will do a whole lot of justice not only to the senate but we in the executive and key leaders in the sector. Because of the fundamental nature of this investigation that has to do with alleged economic sabotage, with importation of substandard products into the country, we believe that the Senate ensures we do a live broadcast.

“As a government we committed to ensuring that we protect our local industries, all stakeholders in the oil sector.

“We will ensure that we complete the rehabilitation of the three refineries that are fallow so that we can reduce the level of import. We are committed to supporting Dangote refinery, we are also supporting modular refineries and we have been resolving whatever issues they had brought to our attention.”

Earlier in his address of welcome, Leader of the Senate and Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Senator Bamidele who raised questions over $1.5 billion approved in 2021 for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery with little or no result, lamented that it was unfair and wrong to treat government businesses or public companies as an orphan while private businesses were flourishing and thriving.

The Federal Executive Council had approved the plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to rehabilitate and turn around the Port Harcourt Refinery with a whopping sum of $1.5 billion under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the Senate, despite the huge investment, the government-owned refinery was yet to function effectively, a situation that compelled the country to depend almost entirely on the importation of petroleum products.

Bamidele who expressed grave concerns about the dysfunctionality of the government-owned refineries despite billions of Dollars invested to carry out turn-around maintenance on the installation, observed that the federation “is undergoing a truly challenging period,” pointing out that the distribution and supply of refined petroleum products “has been irregular and problematic in the recent history of our fatherland.

“The long queues at filling stations are obviously a testament to this challenge. A situation, whereby we now depend almost entirely on the importation of these products, even when we daily supply the global oil market no fewer than two percent of its crude oil requirements, is to say the least, highly worrisome.

“We also have at hand a grievous issue of national concern that directly borders on the importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into the country.”

Under different administrations since 1999, Bamidele observed that the federal government “has invested billions of Dollars to maintain and turn around the state-owned refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri. But the refineries are not functioning.

“In 2021, specifically, the Federal Executive Council approved $1.5 billion for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery. Yet, this investment has not yielded significant returns.

“For us, in the Senate, we believe, it is unfair and unpatriotic to treat government businesses or public corporations as an orphan while private businesses are flourishing and thriving,” Bamidele pointed out at the interactive session.

To permanently nip these challenges in the bud, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee disclosed the plan of the Senate to jointly conduct investigation into diverse allegations of economic sabotage in the petroleum industry along with the House of Representatives.

Bamidele, equally, noted that there would be no room for grandstanding during the investigative hearing, promising that the committee would carry out its mandate fairly and impartially.

While insisting that nobody will be untouchable, Bamidele said the task of ridding the petroleum industry of malfeasance “is urgent and must be carried out in the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. We are ready to carry it out with all senses of honour and responsibility.

He said, “We are also taking it seriously with a view to addressing fundamental issues that pose grave threats to our economic prosperity, fiscal stability and public health as a federation. In line with our mandate, we will definitely unravel factors and forces aiding sabotage in our petroleum industry.

“From our findings, we will craft a legislative framework that will entrench global best practices in the industry; open it up for more investments, especially in the midstream and downstream sectors and end vicious regimes of subterfuge in the petroleum industry.

“We are utterly committed to this mandate. We shall carry it out without fear or favour. We shall be equitable, fair and just to all parties with a view to promoting and protecting the strategic national interests of our fatherland.”

He, therefore, promised that the National Assembly “is ready to carry out the investigative hearing with all senses of honor and responsibility,” citing impeccable professional backgrounds of the members of the committee.

The session was attended by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Malam Melee Kyari; Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Gbenga Komolafe and Chief Executive Office, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, among others.