Okadigbo and the task of cleansing the Augean stables in NNPC

THOMAS IMONIKHE

 

As the Senator Margery Okadigbo-led nine-member new board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) settles down to business of implementing its mandate in earnest, one of the major concerns of stakeholders is whether her leadership has the needed capacity to cleanse the Augean stables in the nation’s oil and gas sector as well as chart a path of accountability, transparency, and profitability in the entity.

 

The company which transitioned from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into a limited liability company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA),  is saddled among others, with the responsibility of ‘coordinating and managing the commercial aspect of the petroleum operations, engage in the business of renewables and other energy investments, promote the domestic use of natural gas through the development and operation of large-scale gas utilisation industries.

 

But in what appears to be a fresh hurdle before the board, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has raised concerns over the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which places full ownership of the NNPC Ltd on the Federal Government for which the National Economic Council (NEC) recently resolved to set up a sub-committee to address, after its meeting.

 

Simply put, the new board apart from having to surmount vested and entrenched diverse interests, is confronted with the herculean task of changing the decades long narrative of inefficiency, corruption, inclement operating environment and the monster known as oil theft in in the sector whereby Nigeria reportedly loses an average of 400,000 barrels crude oil daily to ‘powerful and invisible’ thieves who are apparently bent on crippling the economy.

 

Besides, unlike what obtained in the old order in which the President or his Petroleum Minister could take unilateral and policy decisions in secrecy and unchallenged, especially the controversial awards of oil mining leases in the money spinning sector, the board is statutory charged with the burden of ensuring strict compliance with corporate governance principles that place a premium on doing business with the highest ethical standards.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari had on January 5, 2022, appointed the board and management of the NNPC, in accordance with the power vested in him under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

Members of the board of directors include Margery Okadigbo (chairman), Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer and Umar I. Ajiya, chief financial officer. Others are Tajudeen Umar, Lami O. Ahmed, Mohammed Lawal, Henry Obih, Harry Marshal, and Pius Akinyelure.

 

Also, at the unveiling of the new NNPC Ltd in Abuja the President declared that: “We are transforming our petroleum industry to strengthen the growth today July 19 2022” adding that the entity “will operate as a commercial oil company with over 200 million shareholders with integrity and excellence,” a charge interpreted by observers as ‘it’s no longer business as usual’ in the sector.

 

However, Mrs Okadigbo’s appointment, which continues to elicits positive reactions from stakeholders given her pedigree and track record of service, came after the President had suspended the inauguration of the old board headed by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume for reasons that were not made public. Araraume represented Imo North senatorial district in the Red Chamber between 1999 and 2007.

 

Meanwhile an expert, who pleaded anonymity commended Buhari’s decision and described the appointee as a round peg in a round hole considering her background as experienced lawyer, legislator, business woman with vast international and local contacts.

 

According to her official profile, the chairman who had earlier made history by becoming the first woman to occupy her spouse’s seat in the Senate before the appointment was principal partner of Margery C. Okadigbo & Associates, with more than 40 years of experience ‘implementing strategic policies and leading complex, high-growth organisations, and projects through rapid expansion throughout Nigeria’.

 

Her husband, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo was Nigeria’s 8th Senate President,

(18 November 1999 — 8 August 2000), who died on September 25, 2003. Upon completion of a law degree at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1981, she was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982 before proceeding to the prestigious George Washington University, United States of America where she obtained her Master’s Degree in Law, specialising in Comparative International Law and Negotiations.

 

Similarly, in order to further her career development, she obtained professional certificates in high-performance leadership, decision-making, and strategic programming at such prestigious institutions as Harvard University and the University of Chicago’s Booth Business School as well as notary public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

 

It is also on record that Margery’s dogged determination to sustain her husband’s legacies influenced her joining politics and won a keenly contested election to serve as the senator for the Anambra North from 2011 to 2015.

 

She served as the vice-chairman of the Senate Health Committee, and  was a member of the Committee on Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) focused then on strategically reinvesting oil subsidy savings on critical national infrastructures and social safety net programmes as well as Committees on the Environment, Judiciary, FCT, Aviation, and Constitutional Review.

 

It is also note worthy that as the vice-chairman Health Committee, she played a crucial role in restructuring the healthcare industry by co-sponsoring  the Nigerian Health Bill 2013, National Health Insurance Commission Bill 2013, the National Tobacco Control Bill 2013 and led a strong lobby for a bipartisan approach to improving the healthcare system in Nigeria. As a member of the 7th Senate, she moved a historic motion on the need to construct the Second Niger Bridge which is nearly completion today.

 

And in a rare display of philanthropy and commitment to give back to society and uphold some of her husband cherished legacies, she established the Chuba Okadigbo Foundation, which over the years continues to offer scholarships to many students, pays hospital bills of indigent patients, secures employment for tertiary institutions’ graduates and other classes of people as well as assists widows with credit facilities at zero interest rate.

 

It is not surprising therefore that till date in Ogbunike Community, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, where she hails from, the new board chairman is celebrated as a virtuous woman and the mother of the less privileged members of the society particularly the poor, widows, orphans who brings smiles to their faces through her empowerment programmes and liberated many from penury.

 

In other words her rich experience in private practice and public service over the last four decades has no doubt put the chairman in conjunction with the board, management and employees in good stead of successfully piloting the affairs of the NNPC Ltd without fear or favour. Described as very passionate about creating wealth and improving lives, her new appointment is not only well deserved but reward for excellence, focused leadership, hard work, discipline, integrity and unparalleled commitment to the national interest.

 

And like Heracles (Hercules) in Greek mythology,  who was saddled with cleansing the Augean stables—which had not been cleaned in 30 years, industry experts have expressed cautioned optimism that Margery and her board will, if given the needed cooperation rid the 45 year-old NNPC of its massive corruption and inefficiency. Nigeria remains the only major producer of crude oil among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC cartel without any functional refinery and fully dependent on imported petroleum products.

 

They pointed to section  59 of the PIA, which gives the board of the new NNPC Ltd the primary responsibility of ‘guiding and determining the business structure, approving the annual budget, establishing the performance objectives and monitoring the overall performance of the organization’ and stipulates an annual audit of the company to be conducted by an independent, experienced and qualified auditor as part of measures to ensure accountability and transparency.

 

And citing recent standoff and resistance to political pressure to endorse illegality between the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) which affirmed that status quo remains in respect of ExxonMobil/Seplat Energy share acquisition despite contrary position by the Presidency on the issue, industry experts expressed optimism that the Okadigbo-led board and management will brave whatever odds thrown their way and stand up to meeting the statutory mandate of ensuring that businesses in the oil and gas sector are henceforth conducted in a transparent manner and strictly in accordance with international best practices as stipulated in the PIA.