…Describes comments by Olisa Agbakoba as baseless, ill-informed
29 September, 2011, Sweetcrude, Abuja- The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reiterated that the Corporation remains virile, strong and a veritable partner in the nation’s quest for growth and economic development.
Reacting to comments by civil rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba yesterday at the National Assembly, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma described the statement credited to Agbakoba on the existing JV arrangements in the oil and gas industry, the supervisory role of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and indeed NNPC as totally uninformed and unwarranted bar-room comment on the nation’s premier revenue earner.
“It is pertinent to remind Mr. Agbakoba that as far as the oil and gas industry is concerned, he remains an uniformed stakeholder. He even admitted as much before making those comments. He should have known better by limiting himself to whatever areas of expertise he claims to possess”, Ajuonuma said.
“In today’s global economic climate such disparaging comment on the Nigerian National Oil Company is also tantamount to an unpatriotic comment on Nigeria,” Ajuonuma added.
He called on Agbakoba and his likes to make use of the Freedom of Information Act to acquaint themselves of facts before jumping to wild wind conclusion and irrelevances.
Ajuonuma further added that NNPC remains very stable and a strong pillar of Nigeria’s quest for economic growth and development both now and in future.
“We are proud of our role as a catalyst for the nation’s economic transformation and we reject in the strongest terms uniformed characterisation to the contrary”, he said.
