Buhari inaugurates Boards Of NNPC, others

• Tasks Members On Way Out Of Recession

President Muhammadu Buhari has officially constituted the boards of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) and the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

While inaugurating the boards at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday, the President charged members to bring on board their experiences to assist the Ministry of Petroleum and the NNPC in charting ways out of the current economic challenges facing the country.

He said the new boards, to be chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, were composed of selected persons who have both the experience and knowledge to drive the NNPC into harnessing its potentials and fulfill its expectations for the country.

The President said the boards were coming at a time when Nigeria has been hit by the misfortune in the oil and gas sector, with the global petroleum industry witnessing a downturn in purchase, which has also translated into dwindling production by most producer nations.

While charging members to ensure propriety in the management of the country’s most important national institutions, he said:

“You should advise the minister and the corporation management on the most effective way for Nigeria to get more money from our assets.

“My expectation from the members of these boards is for them to ensure that the NNPC charts a way to face current economic challenges.

“These will involve a careful look at the ongoing reforms designed to steer the corporation to archive better performance and efficiency.

“In addition, you should explore more innovative ways to resolve the joint venture funding constraints and other investment issues.”

Responding on behalf of the members, Kachikwu reassured the President that the boards would work assiduously to fulfill their mandate to the Nigerian people in line with the disposition of the administration to entrench transparency in the country.

The minister said a lot had already been achieved in NNPC, but said that a lot still needs to be achieved, as members will work “with the management through the board to try and get them to where they should be.”