New Petroleum Minister Kachikwu Unveils President Buhari's Policies for Nigeria's Oil Sector

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s overall plan for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector for the next four years was on Wednesday disclosed by the newly appointed Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

The new minister who is also the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said in Abuja that the government would pay more attention to increasing Nigeria’s crude oil and gas production within this period to earn more revenue from there.

 

Kachikwu also stated that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which has remained dormant for years would be revived and represented to the National Assembly, albeit with new or reviewed terms.

 

He said the president has directed him to change the age long perception of Nigeria’s petroleum industry as being corrupt and opaque. He added that going forward, the ministry of petroleum resources would have to imbibe new operational character that is  in line with standard practices.

 

“The work in this ministry is going to be very intense. There is a lot to be done. I think we have lost a lot of momentum in this sector from the practices in the past and coupled with the difficult international environment that we now need to begin to sit down and map out very clear deliverables for us,” Kachikwu said in a meeting with heads of departments and parastatals in the ministry.

 

While pledging to follow due process in his work at the ministry, the NNPC GMD explained that within the next couple of months, the ministry and its personnel would have to work on keying into the government’s plan for the sector.

 

“I will imagine that the first couple of months, we will get the heads of the various parastatals to work with us to understand what the agenda of the administration is but very quickly, we will also sit down to see if there are capacities that would be needed. I am not saying I am going to change people but we will absolutely require you to show an ability to deliver so that we can help finish the change processes that we have begun,"  Kachikwu said.