Atiku Blames NNPC's Inefficiency on Corruption
From Josephine Lohor in Abuja
Vice President Atiku Abu-bakar yesterday said corruption was the major factor responsible for the inefficiency in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Speaking when the country representative of the World Bank, Mr. Hafez Ghanem, paid him a courtesy call at the State House, the Vice President wondered why refineries that are older than those owned by Nigeria were still operating at 100 per cent capacity in other parts of the world.
He called on the bank to assist Nigeria in the implementation of its economic and political reforms.
The Vice President noted that "this administration has in the last five years engaged in bringing about a new economic and political reform aimed at taking the country out of the woods and we will like to see the World Bank work with us in implementing the National Economic and Empowerment Strategy (NEEDS) agenda."
Atiku also seized the opportunity offered by the meeting to state that the privatisation programme has reached a critical phase with the impending sale of bigger and more complex enterprises, and called on the World Bank representative to support the transaction to ensure its success.
While expressing optimism that the NNPC would by the end of 2004 hands-off the importation of refined petroleum products, the vice President said "refineries cannot work under public sector management. We have deregulated the sector, but the NNPC has not been successful in total disengagement from importation of petroleum products."
Atiku also disclosed that the bill on Budget and Fiscal Responsibility aimed at assisting state governments to achieve budget and fiscal responsibility would soon be sent to the National Assembly.
He said series of seminar and workshops had earlier been organised to assist the states in achieving budget and fiscal discipline.
Speaking earlier, Ghanem said the World Bank was happy about on-going reforms in Nigeria and that the bank was prepared to support Nigeria's reform agenda.
He added that he would also like to know how the bank could assist Nigeria in the implementation of her reforms, noting that the World Bank has a power sector mission in Nigeria that is monitoring and advising in the power sector, saying to privatise the power sector, there has to be significant improvement in NEPA's generation and distribution.
NEPA, as presently constituted generate N12 billion as against the N5 billion it now generates.
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