Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is a problem to Nigeria, and should be privatised.
According to El-Rufai, the NNPC has only remitted N20,000 to the federation account, because the oil corporation claims subsidy has taken over its revenue.
The governor explained that the Nigerian government has failed in the oil and gas sector, and should “get out” to enable private investors develop the industry like it was done in the telecommunications market.
“This year, NNPC has not brought N20,000 to the federation account. We are living on taxes. It is PPTs, royalties, income tax and VAT that is keeping this country going because NNPC claims that subsidy has taken all the oil revenues. I don’t believe it”, he told Channels TV on Thursday.
Recall that the NNPC had transformed into NNPC Limited July 2022 to limit the control of the government in its affairs following the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)
Commenting on the transformation of NNPC, the governor insisted that, “Nothing has changed, and that it’s just a change in name with limited at the end.”
He added, “Nothing has changed, they are still taking our money, declaring profit that we don’t see the dividends.”
El-Rufai advised that the government should sell everything in oil and gas sector, as well as the electricity sector, as everything the government touches fails.
While buttressing his suggestion with the growth of the telecommunications industry in the hands of private investors, he said, “I am giving this example so that when I say government should get out of oil and gas, people should not think it is crazy; it is not.
“There is no reason why the Nigerian Government should still be in the oil and gas sector. It should just get out, it has failed. By every measure it has failed.”
El-Rufai added that, “So, the government should sell everything in oil and gas sector…The government should get out of everything that is left of electricity, leave it to the private sector, create the environment, the money will come. We did it in the telecoms sector.”