Efforts by President Bola Tinubu to maximise the benefits of the oil industry for Nigeria's economic growth will remain a mirage until competent managers are appointed to drive the president's vision.
This was the submission of a renowned petroleum engineer, Dr. Ahmed Tijani, yesterday in Abuja at a public seminar hosted by Policy Advocacy Initiative (PAI), a non-governmental organisation, to mark Nigeria's 64th independence anniversary.
His call came on the heels of speculations of an imminent cabinet reshuffle by President Tinubu to inject fresh impetus into the nation's governance machinery.
"From day one, I have no doubt that President Tinubu has a clear vision to transform our petroleum industry given his own rich experience in the sector before a career switch to politics. But the trouble is that, as we have seen in the last fourteen months, he recruited the wrong personnel to help him achieve his vision," said Dr. Tijani.
The expert spoke on a wide range of challenges militating against the nation's petroleum industry in a presentation entitled "Nigeria's unending oil misery: What needs to be done".
The event with the theme "Maximising Oil for National Prosperity", drew experts from the finance sector, oil and gas industry, and academia.
To ensure national interest is not short-changed, Tijani advocated that only thorough-bred professionals are saddled with the management of the oil industry rather than politicians with little or no clue.
He cited the recent public dispute between the NNPLC and the Dangote refinery over petrol price as well as the inability of Port Harcourt refinery to supply PMS several months after the supposed completion of a turn around maintenance (TAM) as "missed opportunities".
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"Something is surely wrong when NNPLC gives a price for petrol and Dangote Refinery says something else and independent marketers later came out to tell us they paid far less for petrol from the same Dangote refinery. Something is definitely fishy," said Tijani.
He added: "In the last quarter of 2023, we witnessed the cutting of tape at the Port Harcourt refinery with fanfare over what they described as the technical completion of the rehabilitation with the promise that petrol would be available from the refinery by December of 2023 after over a billion dollar had been paid to a foreign company for repair."
Ten months later, Tijani asked rhetorically, "Please, has anyone seen a single litre of PMS from Port Harcourt refinery?", eliciting laughter from the audience.
Frowning at the culture of placing partisanship above competence, Tijani noted: "I listened to someone saying at the weekend on a live television that he got a sensitive job in the oil ministry through the anointing of a politician and I could not but laugh. That did not suggest that competence was the criteria.
Two, that also did not suggest to me that the anointed nominee came into office with allegiance to President Tinubu's vision, but to serve the interest of the person who had nominated him to the president.
"If I were President Tinubu, I would only appoint someone with a proven track record and exposure in IOCs to drive my vision in this all-important sector. Think of someone who understands the critical issues and who can negotiate the best bargain for Nigeria at the international table."
