By Rahman Musa
In spite of the distractions that dogged his office in the last few weeks, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has moved on to something more productive as he is already projecting into the coming year. With the recent politicisation of a sincere attempt to enforce sanity, rule of law and efficiency in one of the critical parastatals under him, it was almost unbelievable to an average observer the way the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, moved on so quickly with equanimity from what had constituted a needless distraction to his resolve to deliver change.
Although opinions from certain quarters ascribe his composure to the disposition of his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, who refused to give credence to the babel of voices that almost demonised the man for doing his job and would rather he ignore the distraction and concentrate on his work, Kachikwu, by his tact, had proven that he belongs to a class of his own.
Even in the heat of the distractions, it was instructive to note that Kachikwu held his ground in terms of focus on his work and refusing to lend credibility to the extraneous debates that typified that period or the attempt to pit him against anyone, be him a colleague or subordinate directly working under him. He maintained professionalism and, with the silent treatment he extended to sycophants, he controlled the slant of debate, considerably.
With this phase seemingly behind him, Kachikwu, recently in a podcast, gave a projection into the New Year. His address, outlining what was left of the policy thrust of the concluding year, was a veritable launch pad into 2018 that showed an awareness of the importance of the coming year as a precursor to the elections of 2019. He started with a review of some of the ideas that guided and shaped the outgoing year. He alluded to how the ‘7 big wins’ policy inaugurated by President Buhari had helped to define the year under review. He fired a salvo with the zero fuel scarcity, a policy he proudly announced as having helped to clear the Nigerian roads of fuel queues. There is no debating the fact that fuel scarcity had almost become an albatross of succeeding governments in Nigeria.
Indeed, the Buhari government had its own share of this menace too before Kachikwu eventually nipped it in the bud. Although he did not mention the specifics of what magic the government deployed to tame this social menace, he was, however, proud to note that the Buhari government conceived an idea that was deemed workable, which yielded result eventually.
He went on to address what he described as the confidence-building with the multinationals, which suddenly became pleased with a functional system despite its many inadequacies. This, he avowed, accounts for the effort in delivering efficiency at NNPC and the other six parastatals under the petroleum ministry through openness, accountability and transparency.
One of the biggest deliverables, according to him, was the special focus on the Niger Delta, which he noted had become calm and stable through conscious initiatives designed to address some of the growing concerns in that part of the country. He specifically alluded to the efforts by the president and the support by his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, towards realising the dream of a stable and productive Niger Delta through the deepening of engagements which is still ongoing.
He also spoke about Project 100, an idea rolled out to engage with the companies involved in activities that are helping to push up the economic prosperity of the country. These companies, he claimed, are carefully identified and marked for assistance in their collective interest. To close the year under review, he spoke about “The Industry Reward”, which he said would mean gathering industry players who contributed significantly to the progress of the sector and rewarding them for their efforts. He reckoned this would help to ensure efficiency, subsequently.
He began his projection into the New Year with plans to get all the refineries working in 2018 and stop fuel importation possibly altogether. Such would allow savings of about 30 percent of the nation’s foreign exchange. He commended the immutable efforts of Alhaji Aliko Dangote in this regard.
Kachikwu spoke of the need to address gas flare commercialisation by exiting it and, at the same time, taking gas to the hinterland. These two moves, he maintained, had become imperative in the light of the progress that is envisaged in that critical sector in the New Year.
In the New Year, Kachikwu is determined to focus on “infrastructure rebirth”. This is spurred by his concern about the growing infrastructure deficit in that sector, particularly dilapidated pipelines and deplorable depots. To make all of these sit well for a long time is what he identified as the regulation of the industry through legislation. In this regard, he sees the National Assembly as a willing partner, especially given its disposition to the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).
He also spoke about crude tracking through various IT platforms. According to him, crude oil tracking using IT platforms would help to put in place an abiding accountability policy that addresses the question of not knowing how much crude was being lifted, thereby eliminating crude theft. This initiative would further go a long way in helping to increase the country’s revenue base. He believes it would also engender cost reduction in the running of the industry and governance in general. He also plans to focus on the marginal field trams this New Year by improving and expanding them. This, he said, would also help drive revenue and efficiency in delivering results.
More importantly, he said the sector would consider the need for parastatal restructuring to ensure efficiency in the running of the industry. Ultimately, there would be a focus on transparency, which he has consistently tried to make the hallmark of his stewardship. Thus, Kachikwu is optimistic that the coming year holds better promises in terms of policy conception, strategy and administration. He was particularly grateful for the president’s support for ideas that could move the oil sector forward. He has no doubt that the same culture would continue in the New Year.
It may be safe to conclude that the recent storm of distraction has either subsided considerably or gone with the wind. Through the storm, Kachikwu has shown himself to be a thoroughbred professional who carries himself with decency, integrity and efficiency in the handling of his assignment. He is a man who never takes his eyes off the ball.
His review of the outgoing year and the analysis of the year to come speak of a man who is adept and diligent at his work.
Musa writes from Kaduna.