Mele Kyari And Oil Industry Fight Against Coronavirus

In times of crisis, good leaders usually  step up to the plate by rising to the occasion. Those leaders could  either be in the political or corporate sphere, but they usually show uncommon leadership.
Nigeria, just like most countries in the world,  has been brought to a standstill by Coronavirus and  the responsibility of getting out of the quagmire rests on leaders.

One of the leaders stepping up to the plate now is the  Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kolo Kyari, who has shown tremendous energy and leadership acumen in rallying the oil industry to  support the national fight against Coronavirus.

Kyari has  also been showing interest in virtually everything that will keep the economy going at this critical time.

Just a few days back, Kyari  was visible at a meeting with the power minister where issues concerning the improvement of power supply were discussed. A day before then, he was at the House of Representatives to discuss the same issues. 

Since the onset of  the COVID-19 crisis, Kyari has been on the frontline raising billions of naira for the nation’s weak health sector by rallying the key oil and gas industry players including the NNPC to donate generously to the fight against Coronavirus.

At the last count, the nation’s oil  industry, through his efforts, has raised N21bn to support the nation’s health care system. 
The oil industry has  also been distributing high-end equipment and materials to state governments to combat COVID-19, while the industry has also given a commitment to build hospitals in all parts of the. country to support the government’s efforts.

Simultaneously, Kyari is also making sure that Nigerians have access to abundant fuel supply during this crisis. The NNPC, being the sole importer of petrol for now,  has ensured a hitch-free supply of petrol to marketers. 

Also, at this time when many top CEOs are resting on their oars, Kyari is also thinking about the future of the NNPC and its refineries and also the health of the downstream sub-sector. 

In interviews he granted, he stated that subsidy of petrol had been removed and that the industry would be  better for it. And wait for it, he said what any Group Managing Director of the NNPC had not said before, that the corporation was ready to outsource the management of the refineries to private-sector operators post-rehabilitation. 

This could only be a decision of a forward-thinking man who is ready to gradually lead the quest to remove the distortions in the downstream sub-sector for a healthier NNPC and a healthier Nigerian economy.
Also, Kyari is worried about the nation’s weak power sector and has been aligning with other stakeholders to fix the problems in the sector.

Just recently, he worked with the power minister to ensure that companies supplying gas to power stations were paid an outstanding debt of  N220 billion by the Federal Government.

Kyari is seriously worried about the lack of access of many Nigerians to electricity and he has been walking the talk by ensuring that the thermal power stations get gas as and when due.

-Anyebe writes from Abuja.

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.