The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has unveiled plans to increase its share to from the current 14 percent to 30 percent in the downstream retail market of the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Making this disclosure on Tuesday at the first triennial delegates conference of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), NNPC Retail Branch, in Abuja, the corporation’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru, projected that the target would be met by 2020.
To ensure that the target is met, Baru disclosed that the state-owned oil entity, through its NNPC Retail Limited, had made arrangements to acquire more landed property in Abuja and across the states to build more NNPC retail outlets.
He restated the corporation’s commitment to ensuring that the prevailing availability of petroleum products across the country was not disrupted.
Speaking at the forum, former GMD of the corporation, who chaired the occasion, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, pointed out that the corporation deserved commendation for public accountability, following its periodic and prompt reporting of the company’s operations and financial transactions.
He said: “The current NNPC top management led by Baru, must be commended for updating the books of NNPC business units. This is reflective of what used to be. This must be sustained as NNPC business performance should be reported as stipulated in the enabling laws.”
The industry veteran recalled that the decision to establish the NNPC Retail in 2002 had yielded the desired results, with the mega stations across the country providing products to consumers nationwide.
Obaseki charged the union to be focused in their relationship with the corporation’s management to enable both parties work efficiently for the benefit of Nigerians.
According to him, unionism must move away from strikes and protest to development-focused activities for mutual benefits, urging the labour group to must move away from being a combative group as a union but be forward looking and join management in the development of business,” he stated.
The Managing Director of NNPC Retail Limited, Adeyemi Adetunji, in his presentation titled ‘NNPC Retail Limited: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’, explained that the company was moving from a cost-centric to profit-making entity, assuring that the 30% retail market share target will be realized.
In his remarks, the President of PENGASSAN, Francis Johnson, promised that the union members would collaborate with the management of the NNPC Retail to achieve its set target.
