Posted by El Rufai: “FG should not be involved in the oil and gas sector; complete privatization is necessary.”
Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration lately obtaining excellent grades on development indicators ranging from security, energy, and infrastructures, Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, has blamed the Federal Government for the problems still affecting the oil and gas sector.
El Rufai said that the lessons learnt from the telecoms sector showed that the challenges facing the oil and gas sector could only be resolved by complete or extensive deregulation.
On Thursday, the governor appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily to discuss the sixth installment of KadInvest.
According to the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who argued that NNPC is Nigeria’s biggest problem and should be privatized, NNPC will become financially viable in July 2022.
Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer of NNPC Limited, may be trying to make a difference, he claimed, but the company has failed and has no right to continue operating in the sector.
He reflected and used Nigerian Telecommunications Limited as an illustration. According to him, this company was at its lowest point until the private sector stepped in and radically changed the telecoms sector.
So that people won’t think it’s crazy when I suggest the government should get out of the oil and gas business, he said, “I’m presenting this example so people won’t think it’s crazy.” The Nigerian government should not be involved in the oil and gas sector. It should just give up and depart since it has failed. By every measure, it has failed.
“NNPC cannot assert that it made a N20,000 contribution to the federal account this year. Our lifestyle is supported by taxes. According to the NNPC, PPTs, royalties, income taxes, and VAT are what keep this government afloat. This is due to the NNPC’s claim that all oil earnings have been fully sucked off by subsidies. I find it difficult to believe.
The Governor further underlined that the Federal Government should leave the power sector and privatize it in order for the country to handle the hydra-headed and enduring issues of the sector.
He voiced his ardent belief that the government should sell every oil and gas holding. “The government needs to quit controlling the meager amount of electricity that exists, turn it over to the private sector, and develop the necessary infrastructure; the funding will come. We finished it in the telecom sector.
In response to inquiries regarding the commercialization of the NNPC, he reiterated, “Nothing has changed, they are still stealing our money, declaring profit that we don’t receive the dividends.
Recall that the Federal Government registered the business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register it, and that the name of the corporation was recently changed from NNPC to NNPC Limited.