Business
If you don’t kill NNPC, It will kill Nigeria
The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el Rufai, has said Nigeria must do away with its “corrupt” oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, or stand the risk of itself being destroyed.
“If you don’t kill the NNPC, it will kill Nigeria,” Mr. el-Rufai said Monday at the 7th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series in Abuja, where he was a guest speaker.
Mr. El-Rufai said the NNPC has become so entrenched in corruption that the only way out for Nigeria is not to attempt to salvage the corporation, but to destroy it and create a new oil company.
He said he hoped President Muhammadu Buhari will implement that proposal.
The governor said as a former director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, he was confident a messy organisation could be disbanded and turned into a useful one.
He said NNPC has become so corrupt and arrogant that it runs a parallel government and unilaterally decides what it remits to a nation of 170 million people, while its hundreds of employees feed fat on Nigeria’s resources.
In the last three years, Mr. el-Rufai said the NNPC retained 42 per cent of Nigeria’s money, and remitted only 58 per cent.
“About N971bn was budgeted for subsidy payments in 2014 alone (more than twice that was eventually paid). You all recall how trillions of naira were paid out as oil subsidy in 2011, when only N254bn was appropriated. No one has been successfully prosecuted for this scam. Huge deficits in gas supply have ensured that the country’s thermal plants cannot produce power at optimal levels,” he said.
“The long and short of the situation of our oil industry is best exemplified by the parallel government called the NNPC. In 2012, it sold N2.77tn of ‘domestic’ crude oil but paid only N1.66tn to the Federation Account. In 2013, it earned N2.66tn but paid N1.56tn to FAAC; in 2014, (it earned) N2.64tn, but remitted N1.44tn; while between January and May 2015, it earned N733.36bn and remitted only N473.2bn.
“That means that the NNPC only remitted about 58 per cent of the monies earned between 2012 and the first half of 2015. A company with the audacity to retain 42 per cent of a country’s money has become a veritable parallel republic!”
He said the examples he gave were only with respect to domestic crude oil sale. “Similar leakages exist in the NPDC, NAPIMS procurement and subsidiary budgets,” he said.
“The NNPC feels entitled to consume more resources than the 36 states, the FCT and the Federal Government combined. How could a country so dependent on oil revenues have been so lax about the proper governance, efficiency and security of its oil industry?” he lamented.
He identified the need to remove the undue premium on public ownership and control of every major oil asset, while checking the impact of corruption and distortion of oil subsidy on the country’s economy, and restructuring of the NNPC in the national interest.
To realise the potentials of the oil industry, he said the government must not only define exactly what the country wants the oil industry to be and to achieve, but also the structure that would best deliver it.
“An efficient and productive oil sector, able to create jobs, spur industrialization and earn more revenues requires that we tackle the monster that the NNPC has become,” he said. “We should replace the NNPC with brand new organizations that are fit for purpose – a commercialized and corporatized national oil company and new industry regulators.
He said the new national oil company should be capitalized once and for all, and then freed to fend for itself like other national oil companies, by seeking its financing independently from the financial markets and paying due taxes and royalties.
“An efficient and productive oil sector, able to create jobs, spur industrialisation and earn more revenues, requires that we tackle the monster that the NNPC has become. This country can no longer afford to maintain an NNPC that arrogantly, unlawfully and unconstitutionally spends an unhealthy proportion of national oil earnings on itself,” he said.
“We should replace the NNPC with brand new organisations that are fit for purpose, among others, a commercialised and corporatised national oil company, and new industry regulators. This new national oil company should be capitalised once and for all, and then freed to fend for itself like other national oil companies do, seeking its financing independently from the financial markets and paying due taxes and royalties.
He said no one qualified more to appreciate the rot in the NNPC, and to deal with the menace, than President Buhari who was the pioneer head of the NNPC in 1977.
“No one can appreciate the gap between the vision of the NNPC’s founding fathers, the beautiful baby of 1977 and the 38 year-old monster it has become better than President Buhari. The NNPC of today must make Chief Sunday Awoniyi of blessed memory squirm in his grave. Something fundamentally decisive must be done to tame this monster,” Mr. el-Rufai said.
Mr. el-Rufai lamented the irony of about 70 million, or 40% of Nigeria’s total population, currently living below the poverty line, despite the country’s earning of at least $1trillion from oil in the last 50 years.
“For our vast masses, oil is no fortune,” Mr. El Rufai said. “It is more of a mirage, but a more insidious kind, because the fortune is visible in the lifestyles of a few thousands of the privileged elite, but is stubbornly inaccessible to tens of millions of ordinary people.
“Our rich enjoy the lifestyles of the richest in the world, while our poor are truly the wretched of the earth. This inequality is most unfortunate.”
To avoid sinking deeper into poverty, Mr. El-Rufai said the country must resolve to spend wiser, and do more with less by changing its big appetite to consume rather than save; import, rather than produce domestically, or neglect to prioritize capital investments.
The major responsibility of a democratic government, he said, was to ensure that people were moved away from pain of extreme poverty, by managing the country’s resources in a way that would sustain building the people, through diligent revenue collection and cost-effective and resulted –oriented application.
Can We Have More Bankers Like Victoria Mulero? An epitome of ‘omoluabi’
In February of this year, I needed to open a new bank account for salary purposes, as required by the management of the new company I had just joined.
I considered First Bank, Access Bank, and Sterling Bank. After some thought, I chose Sterling Bank—not because I found them superior—but because I believed they had fewer customers, which I hoped would save me from long queues and unnecessary delays.
I visited the Sterling Bank branch at Akowonjo to open the account. Unfortunately, the staff member who attended to me didn’t inspire confidence. She appeared distracted—smiling at her phone, clearly engrossed in a private chat—far from the level of professionalism one would expect in a bank setting. I had a feeling this would lead to problems down the line.
When my first salary was paid into the account, my suspicion was confirmed. Sterling Bank restricted access to my funds—I couldn’t transfer money or make withdrawals at the counter. I visited their Fatai Atere branch at Ladipo, Mushin to complain, where I was informed that the account opened for me was a “Kaikai” account—a type I had never heard of. Apparently, this account type is meant for individuals who lack the required documents during account creation. But I had submitted all necessary documents, so why was such an account opened for me?
At the Fatai Atere branch, I was attended to by a remarkable banker named Victoria Mulero. She requested my NIN, which I didn’t have on me at the time. Rather than send me back home, she asked if I had a digital copy. I did, and she graciously gave me her email address so I could forward it to her. With that, she resolved the issue promptly and professionally.
However, the following month, in March, the same restriction happened again. I returned to the Fatai Atere branch, and once again, Victoria Mulero handled my complaint with efficiency and kindness, resolving it without delay.
I hoped the matter was finally settled, but when my April salary arrived, the restriction was imposed yet again. This time, I was beyond frustrated and ready to replace Sterling Bank as my salary account. Still, I visited the Fatai Atere branch one last time. Once more, Victoria Mulero resolved the issue with grace and determination.
This write-up is a tribute to Victoria Mulero of Sterling Bank, Fatai Atere branch. She is a rare gem—respectful, diligent, and genuinely customer-focused. She went above and beyond, following up with the Akowonjo branch through calls and emails until the matter was fully resolved. She handled every situation with patience and empathy, treating the job as if the bank belonged to her family.
To be honest, I’ve had unpleasant experiences with many bankers, especially female staff. Too often, they carry personal frustrations into the banking hall and take it out on customers. But Victoria is different. She exemplifies what true customer service should be.
We may not all be the same, but treating people with respect and kindness is a skill that can be learned—and Victoria clearly has. Let’s celebrate her for being a model professional and a beacon of hope in an industry that too often lacks empathy.
Without any fear of contradiction, I say boldly that Victoria Mulero is a good ambassador of Sterling Bank and her parents too deserve encomium for raising a well trained daughter and impacting an attitude of ‘ omoluabi’ in her. We need more of Victoria Mulero in our banking industry.
Seun Jacob Ogunbiyi
Known as Olùkọ́, the therapeutic writer and Lagos based journalist
Business
Air Peace Airlines’ failure to adhere to scheduled departure times results in prolonged delays …causing undue hardship for Nigerians on board
Air Peace Airlines’ failure to adhere to scheduled departure times results in prolonged delays
…causing undue hardship for Nigerians on board
~Oluwaseun Fabiyi
Traveling is undoubtedly the most effective form of education, enabling individuals to observe human quirks from diverse perspectives
On Saturday, 3rd May 2025, an Air Peace Airlines flight from Akure Airport was delayed, causing undue inconvenience to a Nigerian traveller and a prominent Nigerian man of God, an unfortunate incident that befell the nation’s citizens
Does Nigerian law consider it a criminal offense for travelers to book flights with Air Peace, a leading Nigerian airline, instead of other airlines that fail to depart on schedule, such as remaining at 10am instead of departing at 10am? Certainly, some Nigerian citizens may opt to travel with airlines like Arik, Aero, Dana, rather than Air Peace.
It is evident that many Nigerians actually believe Air Peace airline came to rescue Nigerians from the subpar fly-and-die experience of other airlines, such as Dana, which is why many have fallen in love with Air Peace Airlines’ domestic operations
Air Peace Airlines’ decision to reschedule a 12:00 flight from Akure in Ondo State to 3:00 on Saturday, 3rd May 2025, has been met with disappointment from some affected Nigerian passengers, who deem this change unreasonable and unjustified.
Nigeria is hindered by self-imposed challenges that impede our collective advancement. I remain optimistic that future leadership will emerge, focusing on nuanced details that cumulatively enhance the lives of citizens, including access to housing, affordable food, petrol, quality healthcare, and a decent standard of living. The fact that we produce rice, only to have its price inflated by some, thereby rendering it unaffordable, is a pressing concern
It is baffling to me why some people or airlines deliberately provide poor services, causing undue hardship for their passengers, without taking the courtesy to apologize
How can passengers ensure they arrive at Akure Airport by 10 a.m. to catch a 12 p.m. flight from Akure to Lagos and complete check-in as usual
Only for them to fall victim to an extremely harrowing experience. The first indication was the outrage of a passenger at the Nigeria Air Peace counters. He yelled at the ticketing officials that his time had been wasted by three hours and demanded to be refunded his money, as his business was equally affected.
The scene was remarkably congested, and indeed there was an exceedingly large number of passengers traveling to Lagos on this particular Air Peace flight.Which none of them can comprehend what could cause a delay from 12 O’clock to 3:15 pm, without considering individuals with an assignment or occasion in Lagos, is so crazy and devastating.
*How Passengers suffer through endless delays waiting for Air Peace aircraft.*
Accordingly, they embarked on an extended wait after Air Peace notified them that the flight had been postponed by an hour. Ultimately, the delay proved to be three hours, with the flight arriving at 3:30 pm, followed by the commencement of boarding procedures
On a final note the Nigerian aviation industry, including airlines, can certainly improve their treatment of fellow Nigerians
Onboard passengers display concern and raise eyebrows.
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