Sentiments as NNPCL appoints expatriate, moves to plug out inefficiency

Concern about low productivity may have informed the decision of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to hand over its commercially viable departments to expatriates.

But this may not seat well with some pro-establishment people who appear ready to frustrate it.

This is coming after its official transitioning into a private entity.
The NNPCL has made the first move with the announcement of Jean-Marc Cordier as the head of the oil trading section of the company.
It announced this in a statement, saying his appointment was in furtherance of the ongoing repositioning in the company for improved growth, better performance and service delivery.
The statement read in part, “A renowned international oil trader, Cordier, a French/Swiss national, holds a Masters degree in Corporate Finance with distinction from Paris 9 University.
“He comes into the role with a rich background spanning over 30 years in physical oil, oil derivatives, and risk management, with significant experience in reorganising and creating a trading business.”
On July 19, last year, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new NNPC, which enabled it to transition into a commercial entity, becoming NNPCL.
The transitioning means that the oil company would be regulated in line with the Companies and Allied Matters Act provisions.
The former state-owned company has been known for its relatively poor leadership and lack of profits for about 45 years.
Experts expect the firm to be independent of government and operate without state funding, with the new goal of delivering value to its shareholders.
The NNPC’s shares and assets, including oil blocs and refineries, are now held by the ministries of petroleum and finance.
But there are doubts how the firm could really function well as a truly private corporation with the government’s appointees still calling the shots at the industry and allowed to superintend over the so-called reorganisation.
The NNPC ought to be reliable cash cow, but over the years, analysts note that it has remained a perennially inefficient and loss-making state-owned oil corporation.
Experts say they wait to see how the transition from NNPC to NNPCL will help it become a profitable business that will benefit Africa’s largest oil producer.
Some people are beginning to cry foul over the appointment of Cordier as this is intended to usher in a new regime, according to a Punch report.
This is mostly coming from those who felt their jobs are on the line and they are looking into the statute book on conditions guiding the appointment of expatriates.
The Punch report read in part, “The announcement, however, triggered resentments among analysts and operators on Monday, though other experts found nothing wrong with the development.
“Energy expert and Chief Executive Officer, Sage Consulting, Bode Fadipe, said, ‘It is of concern to most Nigerians that at this time of our life we are still having a foreigner in such a strategic business enterprise in this country.
‘The question many people will ask is that: Don’t we have Nigerians who can manage that office? Are the expatriates now investors in the business or is it a joint venture that allows a foreigner to hold that kind of position?
‘Has NNPC Ltd sold its shares to the public? To the best of my knowledge, it is still the Nigerian government that owns the shares in NNPCL. It is still owned by the government, so when did it start appointing foreigners to such a level?”
“Fadipe said this was the first time he would see such an appointment in the national oil company, describing the development as abnormal. ‘I think it is an anomaly. I don’t know what would have informed that kind of position, but I think it is a situation that calls for further interrogation,’ the energy analyst stated.
“But on his part, a legal consultant and energy law advisor, Prof. Yemi Oke, argued that under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, NNPCL should be a going concern, as there were requirements under the law for appointments. ‘There are other Nigerian companies that have expatriates as employees, all they need is to comply with the expatriate quota and show that there’s no local manpower skilled enough to man that particular office, due to the technical nature of the position,’ he stated.”