A former Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, has described the response of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to Minister of State (Petroleum), Ibe
Kachikwu’s allegation as a relief.
He said the response had
confirmed his thinking that the allegations made by Kachikwu could not have
been true.
David-West, who spoke with
newsmen in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital yesterday, said he had refused to
comment on issues concerning the NNPC for many years until he read the
corporation’s response to the minister’s allegations.
According to him, Kachikwu’s
claims on $25 billion contracts could not have been true, given the strict
rules guiding such at the NNPC.
He said: “On reading Kachikwu’s
letter, I was flabbergasted that something like that could ever happen. If it
is the NNPC that I know, I can’t believe that all those things could have
happened. The rules of lifting oil are so strict that when I read his letter, I
could not believe my eyes.
“To lift oil within Nigeria, you
must be a corporate organisation or a country. If it is a corporate
organisation, you must have a minimum of 20 staff and have a refinery. If it is
a country, it must also have a refinery. The organisation must also submit
audited financial report of three consecutive years and deposit a
non-refundable fund of $1.5 million.
“This sum was originally levied
in Naira but we changed it in 1984 when exchange rate was $1.5 to N1. But now,
it has been reduced and this has brought more organisations into the business.
In fact, about 40 organisations now lift Nigerian oil as if they are buying
palm oil.
“With those strict conditions, it
baffled me to read what Kachikwu wrote.
“Again, oil contracts are not
discussed at either NNPC board meetings or Federal Executive Council meetings
to avoid slowing down decision-making process. The corporation has its own
tenders board though the basic rules have been updated over time. I was
surprised that Kachikwu’s letter was also leaked to the press because it was an
embarrassment to the President. Definitely, something fundamental is wrong
somewhere.
“The letter could not have been
leaked by the Presidency because it was an embarrassment to the President. It
could also not have been leaked by Maikanti Baru because it would have been an
indictment on him.
“So, I was relieved on reading
NNPC’s response. It confirmed that things have not gone so bad as Kachikwu
portrayed it in his letter. As a matter of fact, if the content of the letter
were true, it would scare players in the oil industry away from Nigeria.
“Some people also said that the
Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would have prevented that kind of situation if it
had been passed. That is not correct. The PIB is not the solution to the
problem in the Nigerian oil industry. In fact, if passed the way it is, it can
destroy the industry. I have read it. It is not a serious bill. It has only 40
words. If they don’t look at it carefully before passing it, it can destroy the
industry.”
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