- The power play within the Nigerian oil sector may be a thing of the past right now
- The two arrow heads in the power play, Ibe Kachikwu and Maikanti Baru may have settled their differences
- This is due to the recent action of Kachikwu, Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum
Keen watchers of the Nigerian oil industry were shocked on Wednesday, December 13, when the minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu presented a contract to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The contract is the controversial $2.7 billion (about N827 billion) gas pipeline contract Kachikwu accused the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, of awarding two months ago.
The contract is for the installation of the new Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano, AKK, gas pipelines under a public-private partnership basis.
Kachikwu and Baru's disagreement dominated the media headlines two months ago. Photo credit: NNPC
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In the memo sent to President Muhammadu Buhari and leaked to the media by unknown persons, Kachikwu accused Baru of insubordination and of breaching contracting process in awarding the contract.
He went on to say Baru refused to involve him, as the chairman designate of the NNPC board and minister in charge of the ministry of petroleum resources, in the processes of the award of the contract. He also said the board of the NNPC was not carried along.
After Wednesday's meeting, Kachikwu told State House correspondents that he presented the contract to FEC for approval again to correct the infringement of due process by the initial approval.
His decision however triggered a fresh controversy and public outcry that the minister may have either been compromised or railroaded into taking his latest decision.
He told the correspondents that the meeting, presided by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, approved his memo for the award of the controversial contract.
“We presently have trapped power, trapped gas, all in the southern corridors that is going nowhere because of lack of infrastructure. So, that contract has now been awarded.
“But, remember that was partially done. This is a contract that has lasted over 13 years. So we got approval for that today (Wednesday), and so that is going forward very nicely,” Kachikwu said.
Asked why he had to present the contract again to FEC for approval, Kachikwu told Premium Times it was to correct the irregularity he pointed out in his leaked memo to the president.
His words: “What I wrote to the president in my memo, which was presented to FEC, was to remind him that these were some of the contracts he had already approved.
“What I complained about was about due process not being following in the initial approvals, obtained without seeking my concurrence or input.
“The due process is that before contracts go to FEC, they should go first to the board of the company, in this case NNPC, to give everyone the opportunity to make their inputs.’’
He said before he took the latest memo to FEC, he had followed due process, by taking the details back to the board, briefed members and obtained their buy-in.
“What I did was an inverse approval process, which is post-the-fact, by taking it to the board before the FEC. After the NNPC tenders board, the right thing to do should be for the contracts to go to the minister, who should even have an input before the tenders board finishes its work.
“But because the contract value exceeds the $20 million threshold, the minister has the obligation to take it back to the other board members for them to review it. Whatever is their opinion would be included in the recommendation by the minister to the president, to guide his decision.
“Based on the president’s input as the full minister, then the contract would go to FEC. That is the due process of how things should be done,” he said.
Kachikwu said at the point he wrote to the president in October, approval had already been given, without his involvement in the process and without the input of everyone who should contribute to the process.
“I don’t want to go through the whole controversy again. It took a lot out of everybody. We managed to calm things down. All what I did was to correct the wrong in the process inversely by taking it to the board members to enable them be aware of it and make their inputs,” he added.
When contacted for his reaction, NNPC spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, said he preferred not to comment on the issue, since all parties in the controversy had since learnt their lessons and moved on “to allow everyone focus on the bigger picture of ensuring a stable growth of the oil and gas industry and the economy.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress has condemned the avoidable pain and suffering caused Nigerians as a result of the ongoing fuel scarcity in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country.
The group made its position public in a statement released by its president, Ayubba Wabba, on Saturday, December 9, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Wabba stated that there was no justifiable reason for the present fuel shortage, and described it as an act of cruelty and sabotage designed to benefit a few privileged persons.
READ ALSO: Oil workers oppose planned sale of oil, gas asset to fund budget
Fuel scarcity: This is getting too much for us - Nigerians lament - on NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng