Unbundling of NNPC, A Necessary Evil

Jeff Okoroafor

Last week the federal government made a bold move to ‘unbundle’ the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and as rightly expected, it’s been generating series of unending mixed reactions from stakeholders, workers in the oil and gas sector, legislators and the ordinary Nigerian on the street. The lawmakers strongly opposed the plan by the government on grounds that it will amount to statutes breach. The workers on the other hand engaged in a nationwide industrial action to express their misgivings about the move. Corporate and non-corporate Nigerians have also taken a shot on the issue as well.

Dr Ibe Kachikwu has explained how President Muhammadu Buhari motivated him on the reorganisation of the state owned oil firm into seven varying units – upstream, downstream, refineries, gas and power, ventures, corporate services and finance and accounts divisions- all of which will have only twenty (20) other companies collectively. Without wasting time, Dr Kachikwu has gone ahead to name new chief executives to man the split units, expressing to all that they will report still, to the GMD of the NNPC. In his statement, he said nothing has changed in the organization’s structure, its operations and staffing and that if anything at all, it would be an improvement and a profit that await Nigeria from the adjustment.

The debates have always been there. People have always complained about the size of NNPC as well as its operational composition. They have also called for a restructuring of the Corporation time and again. And one would have thought that now the Buhari led government has mustered the strength or rather the will power to do what it’s wished for in the Corporation, that it would receive a measure of support by all concerned. But it’s not, surprisingly. NNPC is marred with a deep lack of transparency in its operation. Accountability is an issue and personal responsibility for actions and inactions is missing. It is quite unplaceable that a state oil firm which according to the minister, has not been profitable in the last 15 years, should continue to stand intact with all of its constituents. Tough moves like this will definitely cause lots of pain in lots of places, but the end result often bring about institutional reform inspired by political will. This is why I will strongly urge all Nigerians with a stake in the survival of the oil industry in the country to back the government’s plan and help restore NNPC to a state of profitability and genuine growth.

The dramatic attitude of our lawmakers has always been a retrogressive one. They have at every point since the beginning of this administration, worked in the reverse side of progress and that makes reform unpleasant or very difficult. If what is needed to make the unbundle plan of the federal government run productively smooth for NNPC as well as any other government-owned entity is an amendment of relevant laws, then lets get on with it instead of standing in the way of progress. Regarding the workers and the rest of us, let’s not allow our imagination deviate from reality because change like I stated above, generates the fear of the unknown. If we look past just the welfare and towards the larger picture, then we would understand the importance and benefits of re-organizing NNPC for national development.

I strongly believe we can all make a little adjustment or sacrifice as some may see it, for a restructuring of an organization that has consistently recorded over N160 billion in losses every year. Dr Ibe Kachikwu however, must stop playing “Terminator”, drop the semantics and bring all stakeholders in the loop so the process can be easy and smooth. More importantly, the government must ensure that the unbundling move is not a guise to relieve some less privileged Nigerians of their jobs just to create a space for the more privileged.

God bless Nigeria.