Economists and operators in the oil and gas sector have advised the incoming government to prioritise the restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to speed up the development of the nation.
They also urged the new government to ensure the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.
The advice came as the scarcity of fuel continued to bite harder across the country over the weekend, despite the promise by the NNPC that there was enough fuel to keep the country wet for at least three weeks.
Experts at the Financial Derivatives Company, a firm renowned for its economic analyses, observed that the new administration would need a well thought-through strategy to address Nigeria’s economic problems.
They said while some of the macroeconomic challenges, such as lower oil prices, were external, others such as insurgency and wide infrastructural gap were domestic, and noted that the nation’s capacity to absorb the shocks was reduced because of its low fiscal and external buffers.
The FDC experts, while outlining some of the burning issues, said the new administration should consider “the immediate passage of a realistic version of the PIB. This should occur concurrently with the restructuring of the NNPC and provision of fiscal incentives for international oil companies, as this will attract investment dollars.”
They noted that while expectations were high, resources were so thin that this could either end up being an opportunity or a shattered dream.
The FDC experts said in a report, “With less than one month to the May 29 handover, the transition process has begun. The old administration is putting its house in order, while the new administration, led by Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has to formulate an economic plan and forge a path to achieve its objectives.”
The former Lagos Zonal Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, Mr. Folorunsho Ogini, in an interview with our correspondent, said the new government must work out plans to make the country’s refineries functional.
He said if this meant restructuring the NNPC, the government must not hesitate to do so.
Ogini said, “We have four refineries in this nation that were built before 1970. But as I speak to you today, these refineries are not operating, even at 30 per cent installed capacity.
“If the four refineries operate at 100 per cent capacity, they will produce 18.2 million litres per day. ”
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