Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has underscored the pivotal role of energy security in the success of public wealth creation endeavours.
Noting that no public wealth creation endeavour can achieve any meaningful success without energy security, he made this known during a presentation at the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Public Wealth Management conference in Abuja; where he emphasised that all other wealth-creating activities like agriculture rely on one form of energy or the other to thrive.
Highlighting the importance of prioritising energy security to support and sustain economic growth and development, he said, “If you don’t have energy, you cannot have agriculture. You can do all the agriculture, but you can’t take it to the market, you will not be able to preserve or export. So, all those indices are connected to the ability to create energy,” he said.
He revealed that Nigeria faces a substantial energy shortfall, with about 70 per cent of the population lacking access to clean cooking fuel and over 50 per cent lacking access to electricity. He outlined obstacles to attaining energy security in Nigeria, citing insufficient investment in the sector due to uncertainties in the business environment and multiple taxation. He also noted that in the past decade, Nigeria received less than three per cent of the overall investment flow into Africa.
He, however, assured that NNPCL is actively striving to address the energy deficit and pave the way for sustainable wealth creation, emphasising that the company’s notable growth, progressing from a loss position of N803 billion in 2018 to N2.5 trillion in 2022, serves as evidence of its significant potential to spearhead wealth creation in the country. He said despite numerous challenges, NNPC Ltd is still the highest tax-paying corporate entity in Nigeria.
