The Federal Government will set up an inter-ministerial committee to fast track the restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), President Muhammadu Buhari has said.
Buhari made the disclosure during a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer and President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Jin-Yong Cai at the state House, Abuja on Tuesday.
According to President Buhari, the reorganisation of the NNPC had become inevitable following an alarming rate of corruption and systemic abuse that had engulfed the corporation in its present structure.
He also cited the urgent need for the country to maximize income from every source of revenue as a further imperative for reforming the NNPC, assuring that his administration was doing everything possible to boost national revenue so that it “could effectively implement its programme of change and improve the living conditions of the citizenry.”
Earlier, Jin-Yong Cai had told the president that with proper reformation and re-organisation, the NNPC could become Africa’s largest company.
“You have brought monumental changes since you got to power. You have brought in strong leadership and Nigeria has the opportunity under you to become highly reputable. In NNPC, you can create an entity that is dominant in Africa, and this is the right time to do it, with the momentum you have created,” he told Buhari.
By Olisemeka Obeche