House of Reps lauds NNPC GMD’s  transparency, accountability initiative at 2021 budget defence

The House of Representatives says it is impressed with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s commitment to transparency and accountability in its valuable contributions to the nation’s economy.

The House Joint Committees on Petroleum (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) said this at the 2021 Budget defence by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

The Chairman of the Joint Committees, Hon. Musa Sarki Adar, who presided over the session, described as timely the budget defence by the NNPC management.

“We have the GMD and his management team here to defend their budget, we appreciate this. We have witnessed what this parliament has never seen before, I stand to be corrected,” Adar said.

The Chairman, who said he was initially skeptical about the GMD’s TAPE agenda, remarked that he was beginning to see its positive impact through the GMD’s performance so far, adding that Kyari has done a lot for the country within a short time.

Responding, Kyari said on his assumption of office, he was determined to turn the corporation around for the benefit of all Nigerians by making it responsible and accountable to the people.

He said the courage to publish the 2018 and 2019 Audited Financial Reports of the Corporation was borne out of the support and encouragement given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari and his determination to leave a legacy of openness in NNPC.

“Nigeria was capable of meeting the 3 million barrels per day oil production target, while decrying low investment in the oil and gas industry,” Kyari said in a statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Dr Kennie Obateru, and emailed to Persecondnews.

Kyari urged the legislators to expedite action on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in order to attract investment to the nation’s oil and gas industry to boost job creation.