The Vice Chairman of Reps Committee On Petroleum (Up Stream) Honourable Moshood Mustapha in this interview with newsmen in Ilorin Kwara State, speaks on the ongoing probe of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and shares insights on several topical national issues. Regional Editor (North Central), ABDULLAHI OLESIN was there for LEADERSHIP
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is currently under probe by the House of Representatives. Nigerians have witnessed this exercise before and little came from it. What’s going to be different this time around?
The way things are being done now is quite different from what it used to be. The probe is not just an ordinary probe; it is a public hearing. It is a kind of arrangement that will give Nigerians the opportunity to hear first-hand information from the players of that particular sector that we have given opportunity to come and tell us what they know about this issue of subsidy.
This issue is a sensitive matter. I say sensitive in the sense that it got to a level that people believed that Nigeria might not even be one again. But thank God that today, based on the intervention of the National Assembly we were able to advise the two parties especially during the time labour insisted it was going to ensure that Nigeria’s economy was paralysed completely except the government reversed to N65 per litre of PMS.
We sat on a Sunday which was very unusual and I have a firm belief that our intervention has really helped. That was crystallized into the ongoing public hearing of the NNPC books. One of the resolutions of the motion passed by the House was that we should set up an ad hoc committee to conduct a public hearing. And as you can see, even if the doubting Thomases still believe that nothing can come out of the exercise.
The revelations alone at the public domain are enough for everybody to understand that Nigeria has come of age; that anybody can be called upon at any time to come and account for his deeds.
What of the so-called oil sector cabals?
We all know that we have some cabals. We all know that Nigeria has over the years been shortchanged. The exposure is already there that anybody wanting to go into the business will be careful as he knows that one day he will be called upon.
That single achievement by the NASS to me I think is enough for Nigerians to appreciate.
Moreover, the credibility of members of the committee as well as the entire leadership and members of this 7th House of Representatives will not allow the outcome to be swept under the carpet.
Before now, people had concluded that members of the NASS have compromised. With what we are doing today everybody is aware that we have not compromised as their representatives. By the time the report is put together we will put it at the public domain.
Nobody can doctor the report as it was beamed live for the whole world to see.
I can tell you that the revelations are not only mind-boggling, not only shocking but some are very embarrassing to the level that a company that was incorporated less than three years ago, a company that has less than N100,000 share capital, a company that has never ab initio been involved in anything that is oil-related just all of a sudden became multi-billionaire company that is importing fuel without any attendant resources and facilities.
The conditions that qualify people to import oil and refine fuel are clearly stated.
The conditions state that an importer must have a particular level of capital; storage facilities and certain other criteria that have been spelt out. But we found out that most of the companies that are active participants in the transactions do not possess such and they are dealing with billions and billions of Naira.
Some of them do not even understand the dynamics of the business. Some of them do not even know what they are entitled to in the subsidy they collect from the Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA). They have either underpaid or overpaid in billions of Naira.
You convey a sense that the era of accountability has arrived. What is the basis of this?
It is good that we are moving as a nation to a direction where accountability and probity will be the order of the day. It is unfortunate that Nigeria had got it wrong since the discovery of the black gold. We have not really enjoyed the benefits of oil. In fact to me I believe that the advent of oil in Nigeria is more of a curse than benefit, because this is a sector where we see very rich people and the entire nation is poor.
For the country to have a sustainable economic system we have to change the way things used to be. We the players in the system have seen that the people we govern are not as ignorant as we thought they are. In the past, there used to be a disconnect between the governed and the government.
Now government has realized that it can never be the same again. So there is need for everybody to be on their toes.
Brazil’s Petrobrass is comparable to Nigeria’s NNPC in terms of operational scope and the basic commodity it manages for Brazil. But the similarities end here. Petrobrass is light years ahead of NNPC in terms of operation, vision and other critical areas. Why?
I believe Nigeria should take a cue from Brazil where there is a difference between NNPC and Petrobrass. NNPC is supposed to be the commercial arm of government in the petroleum industry. It is not supposed to have any government power to control other bodies. It is supposed to be an investor in the oil industry too; the eyes and ears of Nigeria in the sector.
The only way to change the current system is by getting Petroleum Industry Bill into place. We will get ourselves together as well as attract investors. As the investors will be sure of returns on his investment and the safety of his investment as well as be sure of adequate competition in the industry.
If we can do that, NNPC should equally go and compete and not regulate the system. Like the NNPC GMD told me about three or four days ago that in the last three months the corporation has not had it so tough, that at every second it is one probe or the other. That they have seen the need to sit down and adjust and do things the way it is supposed to be done.
What of the multiplicity of task forces in the sector currently. Are these necessary?
Every component of the petroleum sector now has one taskforce or the other. To me it is a misnomer. It is when things are not going well that you have taskforces springing up left and right.
Under normal circumstance, I do not see any reason why taskforce should be in place. It is like jump-starting a car battery that is malfunctioning, I just pray it is going to be a short-lived approach so that we can get our thing up running so that Nigerians will have value for their money.
I am of the view that the president has seen the lapses based on the outcry of the people and now he has decided to take some pro-active measures so as this issue of taskforce bringing Ribadu to checkmate the issue of revenue.
With the caliber and capability of members of the Ribadu committee am of the view that even if we cannot have 100 percent accurate figure of how much oil that accrues to the coffers of the country per day. Unless we sit down to checkmate the operators of the system and JVC.
We have to look at the agreements with the JVC. Some agreements are dated to 1950s and they are still in operation and we say the world is dynamic. We are supposed to be operating under the law, where a fine under the law stipulates 50k and we have not changed those laws. That is why I say the dynamism of the system must reflect in everything we do.
Let’s switch our focus and talk about security. What is your position on the Boko Haram induced security crisis?
We should for once be sincere with ourselves. When you have problem at hand, you look at the root cause of the problem not from the surface. The simplest answer is for us to dialogue to see what the problem is.
When we had the problem of the militancy in the Niger Delta, the first thing that came to mind was that they were fighting because the oil is there and because there was no development that was commensurate with what they were giving to the Nigerian nation.
We were all at peace with ourselves because there is a cause and we all know the cause and it is so easy.
But this time around we have a serious challenge in the northern parts of the country. Who can tell us what are their grievances; there is a peculiar system in the north that is so easy to catch on and I believe will positively assist us. In the north we have a tradition.
The traditional system is more effective in the north than the south. The simple thing is for government to approach the traditional institutions.
The emirs and shehus know the head of each clan and family. Definitely these people are not spirits. We must look for a way to curb it once and for all. And if we want to get rid of a tree you don’t cut it from the stem.
What we are doing as a nation is cutting the tree from the stem and we say we want to kill the tree. We must take it from the root.
Let us sit down with these people and dialogue. Let us forget about ego. It is really affecting not only Nigeria economy, it is affecting the psyche of every citizen. Everybody is apprehensive and living in fear.
We can’t sleep with our minds at rest. What kind of a nation is that? No matter the situation the issue of security comes before the economy. Where there is no security economy cannot thrive.
Let every stakeholder from the region come to a round table discussion because I believe some know better than we think they know and until we call them they might be ready to divulge any information.
By then we will be able to know the people and then we ask questions about their grievances. Foreigners are all hanging back in their countries now. They don’t want to come as they don’t know what happens next.
?