Group under umbrella of Pan Nigeria Professionals (PNP) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for coffering the Honours of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) on the Mallam Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company and now the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
President Muhammadu Buhari today presented national honours to 447 Nigerians and friends of the country at the International Conference Centre in Abuja .
The group which described the honour as “well deserved” said it is timely and apt considering the manner Kyari has deployed administrative prowess to reform NNPC Ltd .
The Pan Nigerian Professionals,who stated this is a Statement signed by its Chairman , Dr. Yusuf Ahmadu Danbatta, said the honour will no doubt encourage the NNPC Ltd boss who , “In few years into his stewardship made significant increase to the national crude oil reserves to achieve the 40,000 billion barrel target through focus and commitment” to do more .
The GMD’s efforts to revive refineries and decision to collaborate with relevant security agencies to clamp saboteurs are part of reasons he has achieved great feat in turning around fortunes of NNPC Ltd .
In the statement, the group however said it singled out Mele Kyari for commendation because ; “For the first time in the history of NNPC, the company made and declared profit,which Kyari achieved through the area of financial transparency via the audited financial statements of the NNPC LTD, with the Company recording its first ever profit in its 44 years history.
” The decision to make public the Corporation’s Monthly Financial & Operations Reports (MFOR) in line with his TAPE vision was part of reasons NNPC LTD was placed as the only national oil company that publishes its financial and operations reports monthly globally.
“We decided to also identify with Kyari on this occasion for making frantic efforts to tackle the problem scarcity via importation of huge quantity of petrol that bridged the supply gap created with normalcy returning and incessant scarcity disappeared.
The Statement further reads : “His efforts to fight oil theft has yielded results as disclosed during the Senate’s joint committees on Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) and Gas, that “within six weeks, 395 illegal refineries have been deactivated, 274 reservoirs destroyed, 1,561 metal tanks destroyed, 49 trucks seized and a 4-kilometres illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal into the sea – which had been in operation undetected for nine years – detected.
” As group professionals in Nigeria we are happy that it was under his leadership that he Petroleum Industry Act provides for the transitioning of the NNPC into a fully commercial entity, a Limited Liability Company incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), known as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.
“Against all odds ,he was able to champion reforms in the upstream sector, sustaining oil output, boosting its subsidiary, implementing the National Gas Expansion project, AKK pipeline project, NLNG Train 7 FID, facilitating power projects, efficient crude oil lifting contract and ultimately instilling transparency in the corporation with introduction of Transparency Accountability and Performance Excellence(TAPE) in the Industry.
The group equally commended the President for recognizing Nigerians who have worked hard to put the country back on the lane of progress and development.