By Fredrick Wright
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyrari has revealed the secret behind the mind blowing profit made by the corporation after about 44 years of recording loss.
NNPC, in it’s 2020 financial results recorded ₦287 billion profit after tax, which has become an historic feat, celebrated by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Given an insight into the measures adopted by his management to achieve the feat, Kyari at a press conference in Abuja, attributed the turn-around of the corporation from a loss of ₦803 billion in 2018 to profit of ₦287 billion in 2020.
He linked it to the aggressive implementation of cost-cutting measures, improved efficiency through business automation, emphasis on commercially-focused investments and non-interference in the management of the corporation from any quarters.
The NNPC boss also added that the corporation saved a lot of cost through contract renegotiation by up to 30% on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He added the introduction of technology that drastically cut travel cost through reduction in in-person meetings and the general automation of processes that enhanced efficiency across the group’s businesses.
He said the management’s focus on the prioritization of investment and staff welfare also helped in boosting the corporation’s overall productivity and bottom line.
The Alternate Chairman of the NNPC Board of Directors and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, congratulated the GMD, management and staff of the corporation on the feat of posting profit for the first time since its incorporation in 1977.
He said NNPC’s emergence from loss into profitability, coming shortly after the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Bill, was a proud moment for him, adding that this was a season of achievements for the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Meanwhile, President Buhari, who doubles as Minister of Petroleum Resources, disclosed that the profit was made possible by the prudent management of the country’s resources.
Buhari said: “I am pleased to announce the declaration of Profit after Tax of N287 billion in year 2020 by the NNPC. This is sequel to the completion of the statutory annual audit exercise for year 2020″.
