22 August 2016, Abuja – The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has taken steps to end Joint Venture (JV) cash call challenges by making the JVs autonomous.
This is according to the management of the Corporation, which also clarified that contrary to speculations, Baru was repositioning the agency to make it more profitable.
Responding to an article where the writer had claimed that “NNPC could not find a way of solving the Joint Venture cash call challenge,” the corporation said that contrary to the claim, action from the committee negotiating with the JV partners to close out the deal that would not only repay the arrears over the next five years, but also put in place a process where the JVs will not be cash calling government and eventually transit to the Incorporated Joint Venture (IJV) model as is the case with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), where the IJV would be autonomous under the direction of its Board and Management, was presently being expected.
“It can fund its operations, pay royalty and taxes to the government as well as dividends to its shareholders as a Limited Liability Company,” the management stated.
One of the NNPC chief executive’s 12 key business focus areas, the growth of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC, is also geared towards reviewing some of the salient contractual arrangements and terminating all bad ones, the NNPC said.
The management pointed out that the clarification became necessary in view of an article where the writer succeeded in casting aspersions on Baru’s personality, capability and credibility.
*Leadership
