Some few months ago, I had cause to comment on the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in a very innocent and objective manner. Hardly had I published the discourse than I was taken up by the spokesman of the company, alleging my ignorance of the subject. As I was sure of my assertions in the said intervention, I put up a reply, in which I not only fortified my position but also further exposed the iniquities of the company. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, as it was then christened, was the state organization in charge of the country’s petroleum and its products. It was a historically and patently fully state-owned corporation, managed exclusively by the government. Upon the enactment of the Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act, the Corporation transformed into a limited liability company.
The impression sought to be given then and till now, is that the corporation is distinct from the government thenceforth. In fact, in response to the continuous agitation of the citizens, the government response has been, and is still that it is not in control of the NNPCL. In doing this, however, the government will appear to be shielding the company over its iniquities. Interestingly, the shareholders of the NNPCL remains ‘the Ministry of Finance Incorporated’ and ‘Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated’, both being government entities. How do you then isolate the company from the government in that circumstance? Who are the members of the management of the company? are they not the carry-over of the erstwhile corporation? Who ‘appointed’ or retained the Directors? Is it not the same government? What then really is the difference between the corporation and the company?
Nothing really to mind. It is simply an old wine in a new bottle. This makes it difficult for the government to exculpate herself from the failures of the company. Before I delve further into this conversation, let me promptly say to the spokesman of the company and other goons that are likely to rise up in solidarity with the company, either out of ignorance or motivation, that I come in peace. I mean no harm. I have actually struggled to resist intervening again in the affairs of the company but unfortunately, it is inevitable due to the challenges continuously thrown up by the operations of the company. As a Yoruba man, Ai si nbe, ni ai ba won da si (it is while absent that one contributes not to an issue on ground) and b’a wi, a ku, b’a si wi, a ku (whether we speak (against evil) we will die; if we do not speak, we still will die). It is, therefore, better to stand by the truth and the people. To this end, let me appeal to the government to disentangle itself from the company and fully deregulate and commercialize the company, to avoid the stains and dent brought upon it by the company. Continuous retention of the management of the company amounts to keeping bad company.
This is my innocent counsel to the government and the President, more so when he is reputed to be the substantive Minister of Petroleum. Oga mi, I beg, extricate your office and self from this monster of a company. The time to act is now! I wish I could engage directly but the gatekeepers are doing a good job of shielding the office from genuinely concerned Nigerians. Thank God, this alternative is still available and potent. Having said this, what now prompted this conversation? It is simply the celebration and de-celebration of the much-trumpeted resumption of activities at the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Last week, after a protracted resumption of operations at the Refinery, Nigerians were suddenly enthused at the purported resumption of production of refined petroleum products at the refinery. It will be recalled that prior to this ‘event’, Nigerians have been continuously taunted with news of resumption six times since December, 2023. The completion time was initially set for 2022 which failed; it was then pushed to the end of 2023. Still unable to perform, the promise of first quarter, April 2024 was made. Again, this failed and was rescheduled for July 2024. This was not to be and the delivery promise of September, 2024 was made, but just for this to move again to a later time. It was not until last week Tuesday, the 25th of November, 2024, by which time Nigerians had given up, that the company suddenly announced resumption of production at the refinery.
Beyond the entrenched postponements, huge amounts of state resources have been dissipated on the same refinery in the past. As at the last count, the sum of $1.5 billion was committed to the rehabilitation of the refinery. In spite of this colossal expenditure, the facility has never operated efficiently.
The emergence of Dangote Refinery and the attendant bickering between the company and Dangote Refinery culminated in the pressure to urgently revamp the facility amongst others, particularly when Nigerians constantly condemn the company in the role it is playing in the pricing of Dangote products. NNPCL is supposed to be competitor to Dangote Refinery if truly the company is incorporated and not a government parastatal or agency, not a regulator. The delivery of the company is expected to be a challenge to the alleged monopoly of Dangote Refinery.
Unfortunately, this appears to be a mirage. As stated earlier, as the company claimed last week, it has resumed ‘partial’ production, put at 70 percent capacity at its refinery. The resumption was done with fanfare. In reaction and as expected, some sections of the Nigerian populace, in their usual characteristics, who seemed to have forgotten the multiple dashed hopes of the people, and the trauma Nigerians have been subjected to overtime, sang praises of the company. The good news, however, is that another sizeable number doubted the substance of the communication, disbelieving any resumption.
Of course, there are others who are the let-us-wait-and-see type. The controversy is not unconnected with the distrust for the government that has been created over time. I have elsewhere pleaded on the need for the government to resurrect the confidence and trust of the people. The situation in the country is so bad that when the government says ‘good morning, citizens troop out to really ascertain if it is morning. It is events such as the one played out most recently at the Port Harcourt refinery that continues to exacerbate the distrust. When the company categorically said that 200 trucks would now be loading products daily from the refinery and it is now turning out to be false, how do you convince the citizens to now believe their leaders? The euphoria that greeted the event is now turning to dashed hopes, as naked facts are now unveiling the reality.
Amongst the early commentators on social media is one ‘Odalo’, a blogger who informed us that, assuming without conceding that the refinery was producing, it was first said so in September, 2015; and that again in April, 2016, same news was repeated, just for the same story to be repeated in 2023 December. In March 2024 again, it was reported that crude was delivered to the refinery for production to start in April, 2024.
All the above truly turned out to be lies. Thus, the blogger/commentator insisted that nothing new was going on at the Port Harcourt refinery. This position was to be further corroborated by a communal stakeholder, Timothy Mgbere, in the location of the refinery who boldly stated that not only was what we watched on the national television, cosmetic, it was just a circus involving the distribution of old stock to about six trucks. The unfolding events is now turning the entire experiment into a hoax. With the above piece of information, I was still doubtful of the picture painted as I had no means of ascertaining same. My skepticism was reinforced by the counter-offensive issued by the spokesperson of the company who described the position of the community stakeholder as a product of crass ignorance.
Ordinarily I ought not to believe the spokesperson as it was in the same pedestrian manner, he dismissed my comments at a time. As if to justify my suspicion of the statement from the NNPCL, there came the report from the Punch Newspaper, one of the most credible news mediums around. This is the last straw that broke the camel’s back as the correspondent who visited the refinery audaciously informed us that only old stock of less than six trucks was loaded and that no operation was ongoing at the refinery for whatever reason. This has been admitted, by way of another falsehood, in a December 2, 2024 news publication that the “Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) has clarified that its operations have been scaled down, not completely halted, as part of ongoing upgrades to improve its facilities”. Laughable. With this, as the Yoruba proverb goes, o jo gate, ko jo gate, o fi ese mejeji tiro which literally means whether the accusation is true or not, the posture of the object is a testimony to its fact.
Let me even step further, the expectation by Nigerians that even if the refinery resurrects, the implication must be the crashing of the extant prices of petroleum products, no matter how small. This again is not to be as the prices even appear higher. What is therefore the essence? As I opined at the inception of this discourse, I was reluctant to engage the company but for the fact that truth must be spoken particularly when it significantly affects one. As at date, my family consume fuel of not less than a million naira monthly. This implies that I am groaning under an unsustainable circumstance. For decades now, it seems NNPC, or NNPCL, as the case may be, has never been in the news for any positive reason. Like the proverbial tortoise that is the protagonist of all negative stories and hence reflected in the Yoruba proverb, oro gbogbo kii se lori alabaun (all stories begin and end with the tortoise), the NNPCL has acquired this nefarious fame. It is either for non-remittance into the federation accounts, incapacity to account for crude-non-auditing of its accounts, incapacity to secure pipelines or products, struggle with the Dangote Refinery, oil subsidy scam, or unfair pricing and exploitation of the masses. The only time that it now seems to have recorded some accolades, is greeted with controversy bothering on fraud. The corporation, now company continues to be in the news for wrong reasons. I believe it is advisable for the company to, at this stage, surrender, by this, I mean the management. Honestly, from the ‘little’ I know about the industry, I strongly suspect that the refineries that are under the so-called rehabilitation are obsolete and unserviceable again. It is either we balkanize and sell the parts, or best sell them in entirety to a willing buyer or buyers, not even concession. Hopefully, the entity acquiring will be able to deploy private sector capacity to really resurrect the refineries. The good news is that there are so many modular refineries even coming up, let us continue to encourage investment in the area and stop grandstanding with resuscitating the refineries that the government lacks the capacity to maintain and sustain. We need to stop throwing good money into bad projects. Imagine the huge sums already consumed in the turn-around maintenance or rehabilitation of the refineries. I am of the view that it probably would have been better since to construct a new refinery with the sum. It is economically unsound to continue along this perilous route. Except there is more to it, let wisdom prevail. That corruption in the industry is unparallelled is no news again. I wonder why my friend, the EFCC Chairman or that of the other anti-corruption agency has not peeped into the nefarious activities of the company. I hope none of them is awaiting my petition or that of any other Nigerian. I believe that most Nigerians have now resigned to hopelessness than to waste the little precious time writing petitions that eventually will not birth any meaningful outcome. It is, therefore, a challenge to the anti-corruption bodies. Just recently, without a petition, and out of concern, the Economic and financial crimes Commission is now uncovering so much as it pertains to the Transmission Company of Nigeria. NNPCL deserves the same treatment urgently, if we are to believe that there is still no sacred cow in the country. This much I opined during the reign of Emefiele but was ignored. Contemporary events are now validating my observations then. This is not likely to be different ultimately. This is my little intervention today, hoping to say more in reply to any expected rejoinder.