Petroleum Engineer Urges Tinubu to Appoint Experts to Drive Oil, Gas Sector

•Faults appointment of politicians

Peter Uzoho

As Nigerians await President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle, a renowned petroleum engineer, Dr. Ahmed Tijani, has advised the president to appoint oil and gas experts to man and drive the development of the nation’s hydrocarbon industry.

He warned that efforts by the president to maximise the benefits of the oil industry for Nigeria’s economic growth would remain a mirage until competent managers are appointed to drive his vision for the sector.

Tijani, made the submission yesterday in Abuja at a public seminar hosted by Policy Advocacy Initiative (PAI), a non-governmental organisation, to mark Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary.

The theme of the seminar was “Maximising Oil for National Prosperity.’

His call came on the heels of speculations of an imminent cabinet reshuffle by Tinubu to inject fresh impetus into the nation’s governance machinery.

“From day one, I do not doubt that President Tinubu has a clear vision to transform our petroleum industry given his own rich experience in the sector before a career switch to politics. But the trouble is that, as we have seen in the last fourteen months, he recruited the wrong personnel to help him achieve his vision,” said Tijani.

In his presentation at the forum, entitled “Nigeria’s Unending Oil Misery: What Needs to be Done,” Tijani spoke on a wide range of challenges militating against the nation’s petroleum industry.

The seminar drew attendance from experts from the finance sector, oil and gas industry, and academia.

To ensure that Nigeria’s national interest was not short-changed, Tijani advocated that only thorough-bred professionals must be saddled with the management of the oil industry rather than politicians with little or no clue.

He cited the recent public dispute between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Dangote Refinery over petrol price.

He also described the inability of Port Harcourt Refinery to begin production and supply of petrol several months after the supposed completion of turnaround maintenance (TAM) as a missed opportunity.

“Something is surely wrong when NNPCL gives a price for petrol and Dangote Refinery says something else and independent marketers later came out to tell us they paid far less for petrol from the same Dangote refinery. Something is fishy,” said Tijani.

He added: “In the last quarter of 2023, we witnessed the cutting of tape at the Port Harcourt refinery with fanfare over what they described as the technical completion of the rehabilitation with the promise that petrol would be available from the refinery by December of 2023 after over a billion dollar had been paid to a foreign company for repair.”

Tijani questioned the inability of the Port Harcourt Refinery to resume operation 10 months after its expected resumption of operation.

Lamenting the culture of placing partisanship above competence, he noted: “I listened to someone saying at the weekend on a live television that he got a sensitive job in the oil ministry through the anointing of a politician and I could not but laugh. That did not suggest that competence was the criteria.

“Two, that also did not suggest to me that the anointed nominee came into office with allegiance to President Tinubu’s vision, but to serve the interest of the person who had nominated him to the president.”

Tijani added, “If I were President Tinubu, I will only appoint someone with a proven track record and exposure in IOCs to drive my vision in this all-important sector.

“Think of someone who understands the critical issues and who can negotiate the best bargain for Nigeria at the international table.”