LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has responded to a scathing editorial by BusinessDay newspaper, which accused the company of being a liability to Nigeria due to alleged opacity, corruption, mismanagement, and monopolistic control of the petroleum sector.
In a strongly-worded rebuttal, Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and “outright lies”.
Soneye argued that the company has made significant strides in transparency and accountability under the leadership of Mr. Mele Kyari, with annual publication of audited financial statements since 2019.
“According to the newspaper, NNPC Ltd.’s status as an asset is undercut by the opacity of its operations and corruption. The truth, however, is that this is a regurgitation of age-long allegations that have since been overtaken by the emergence of Mr. Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company and the transition of the old NNPC as a corporation into a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act,” it said.
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Soneye also countered the claim of mismanagement, citing the company’s consistent profitability despite security challenges and legacy problems. He pointed out that the company’s management system, encapsulated in the Performance Excellence element of the TAPE philosophy, has enabled it to overcome these challenges.
“In fact, the same BusinessDay newspaper that is so bent on hanging the tag of opacity on the company actually honoured Kyari with its “Energy Executive of the Year” award in 2021 for turning the fortunes of the company around and entrenching the culture of transparency in the company.
“But out of sheer mischief, the newspaper has forgotten so soon and chosen to borrow some ignoble tricks from Josef Goebbel’s playbook, that of repeating the lies of opacity and corruption against the NNPC Ltd frequently with the hope of sustaining the propaganda just so well the public would believe the lies to be the truth,” it added.
Regarding the allegation of monopolistic control, Soneye clarified that NNPC Ltd does not issue import licenses for diesel or any petroleum product, and that the company is an operator, not a regulator.
He emphasized that the company’s role as a supplier of last resort is aimed at guaranteeing energy security for the nation.
Soneye’s statement concludes by asserting that NNPC Ltd has proven to be a huge asset to the nation, contrary to the newspaper’s claims.