NNPC Presents First Budget To N’Assembly In 43 years

House of Representatives has lauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), for laying down its budget to the National Assembly for the first time.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, while presenting the budget said all the refineries had been shut down due to vandals, thieves and weakness of the pipelines.

He added that security reasons have also affected all pipelines supplying commodities to the depots across the country.

Kyari made the revelations when he appeared before the joint House Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas) for budget defence.

Chairman of the joint committee, Musa Sarkin-Ada, in his opening remarks, noted that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill for second reading on Tuesday by the House, without controversy, was a good omen.

He said, “Let me salute all of us for today’s milestone; milestone that we must cherish together with the GMD NNPC.

“Day before yesterday, the House achieved a milestone by the passage of the PIB for second reading without any hindrance.

“We have all been witnesses to what has happened in the last 13 years. PIB was submitted five times to the parliament.

“Most of the time when it came, it was dead on arrival, except when it came from a private member bill from the Senate, which was not assented to by the President, which was as good as not born.

“Going by what had happened initially, most of the problems came from the NNPC. They considered PIB as something that could undermine them and take away what they call privileged rights.”