… NNPC to declare dividends.
Olusola Bello
The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has said, with Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in place, the trust of international business community, particularly finance and oil and gas sectors would ultimately be won back into the country which would henceforth become the competitive environment of choice.
He said Business people don’t care about what you do, as far as you have good roads, your fiscal environment is good, they would come here, and obviously the Nigerian fiscal environment now is one of the best any one can find in this part of the world
Mele Kyari, who spoke on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) programme Tuesday, said: “For instance, it is clear that in the last five years over $50 billion investments has come to the continent of Africa and just about $3billiuon of that money came to Nigeria.”
He said this must change. Nigeria, he said, is the biggest gas resource country in Africa, and have the highest volume of crude oil reserve in the continent, yet, she is not getting much of the money.
According to him, with the PIA, NNPC Limited will have shareholders and these shareholders are the 200 million Nigerians but who are represented by the Minister of Finance and Minster of Petroleum Resources.
“These shareholders can on the long run decide to reduce the share holding of Nigerians, which means some private investors can be brought into the business. The business concern can be quoted on the floor of Nigeria Stock Exchange. However the intention at the very onset was not to go that way, but there is a provision in the PIA that allows for the sales of some of the shares of the company future.”
The NNPC boss said as at today, it is a company that is owed by all Nigerians. It will declare dividend to all of us at the end of the year. And the dividend would be transfer to the federation account.
He said in 2018 the losses of the corporation was about N803 billion but by providence the losses was reduced to N1.7 billion. I can tell you that in fiscal 2020 this company would declare profit. Even as a corporation this company has the potential to declare profits and dividends.
The company like any other companies, he said, would also pay taxes and royalty.
As regards, petroleum pricing, he explained that there is an authority that would ultimately regulate the pricing of petroleum products in a very competitive market. He said in terms of the pricing of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol which is the only regulated petroleum Product, the PIA envisaged a fully deregulated market ultimately but did not say it would be done tomorrow.
On what would be the fate of the Petroleum Equlisation Fund (PEF) and Petroleum Product Pricing Authority (PPPRA), he said there is a transition provision for all the institutions that are affected by the PIA. “The implementation process is very clear of what should be done immediately with some of the institutions”
He adjudged the signing of the PIB into law is an extremely positive development in the country and in the industry, because it has brought Nigerian fiscal environment to be very competitive globally. “It would bring investments into the country, there is a regulatory framework that would ensure gas development is focused on, and by this we would be able to create prosperity in the country by creating more opportunities and investment in the country.
