Kachikwu, NNPC and the need for continuity – Part 1

Proponents of restructuring in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), to divest Ibe Kachikwu of his double-barreled position of minister of state for petroleum and group managing director of the corporation have, at last, had their way. The other day, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina announced that Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru had been appointed the new GMD of the corporation with a board headed by Dr. Kachikwu who retained his position as Minister of State for Petroleum. Maybe, that is just as well so that peace will reign within the establishment.

For far too long, speculation about Kachikwu’s departure from the GMD’s job had ruled the media space with irritating frequency triggering, at times, frantic rebuttals from the agency. But as it goes in the popular Nigerian parlance, there is never a smoke without a fire. Kachikwu’s exit was a secret on everyone’s lips except the man who had the power to make it happen. But many had thought that Buhari would not want to tamper with an arrangement that is working optimally, that the timing of such an action, when it became imperative would allow for the deepening of the winning strategy that is being implemented.

Many reasons had been advanced to justify it: that one man should not hold the two most powerful positions in the oil industry, conveniently ignoring the fact that the ultimate position was held by President Buhari who, had he not appropriated the position, still would have overriding powers, including that of removal, over Kachikwu. Or any other minister for that matter. The overwhelming feeling is that the President has capitulated to geopolitical pressures. Worse still, allusions have been made to the exclusion of the southeast zone in the NNPC board as further evidence that the Igbo of the south-east has no place in a Nigeria ruled by Buhari.

This has become a recurring feature of PMB’s appointments since he came to power and this has also become increasingly worrying. Maybe we should remind our President that Ibe Kachikwu comes from the South-South geopolitical zone. While we ruminate over the political implications of the President’s action, good conscience will demand that we first consider how it affects the dramatis personae in this unfolding saga, Ibe Kachikwu himself. Does the President’s action amount to a vote of no confidence on the minister? Or has he discharged the initial mandate that warranted his occupying the two strategic positions at the same time? If Kachikwu were to leave the cabinet today, how will he be remembered? What will be his legacy?

To answer these questions will require looking at his mandate even against the background of his self-professed benchmarks that revolved around the following fundamental issues: professional restructuring of the NNPC anchored on best practices spearheaded by knowledge based leadership, reversing the loses in the NNPC, enthroning transparency and accountability, steadying fuel supply, restoring confidence in industry stakeholders who were suspicious of the motives of Buhari and restoring stability to the Niger Delta through a win-win proposition.

Nearly three-quarters of a year later, can we attempt an objective scorecard? What will be the highpoints of his performance? Was the NNPC under the minister able to deliver on the key benchmarks? Is it not possible that the President, satisfied that the expectations had been met, therefore decided on a further restructuring to achieve his best intentions? If so, what are those best intentions? Are they best for the country or just for narrow interests, going by the composition of the board which suggests pacification of known political godfathers and gladiators in the party in power?

However, one evaluates the situation, judged by the ministry’s accomplishments within so short a time, it can be argued, without any fear of contradiction, that Kachikwu’s has been one shinning ministerial performance in a rather opaque canvass of questionable administration deliverables. Under him, accountability and transparency have been restored to the operations of the NNPC.

The publication of monthly accounts may not mean much to the ordinary Nigerian who is more concerned with food on his table, electricity and water at home, employment for his or her three graduate children and a sound sleep at night and a trip from Abuja to Lokoja without the fear of being kidnapped on the way. However, to oil industry stakeholders, investors and entrepreneurs, it provides a solid mirror for understanding what goes on behind those tightly guarded dollar-incubating towers, analysing the Nigerian economy and taking investment decisions.