NNPC: Appointment Of Mele Kyari Excites Oil Workers

There is palpable excitement in the oil and gas industry over the appointment of Mr. Mele Kolo Kyari as the new Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

President Muhammadu Buhari had yesterday, Thursday, June 20, 2019, approved Kyari’s appointment to replace the outgoing GMD of the Corporation, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who is retiring from service on July 7, 2019.

The appointment has continued to generate excitement especially from unions in the oil and gas industry who believe that Kyari’s engagement will engender good industrial harmony within the oil sector.

The new GMD, who started his career in the NNPC in 1991, is seen as a perfectly grounded crude oil expert and whose activism as a trade unionist explains his constant advocacy for transparency in the oil sector.

A senior staff of the NNPC, who doesn’t want to be quoted, explained that Kyari’s appointment is causing excitement among staff and union members in the organization who see him as one of them, and one who would bring the needed reform.

“I’m excited and so are other members of staff and union of this organization. This is one of the best appointments that has been made in this organization. We hope that he (Kyari) will not disappoint all those who see him as the right man for the job,” said the senior NNPC staff

Kyari earned the name “grand chairman” from unionist groups who believe the new NNPC helmsman is still one of them and would promote their interest.

With a career spanning over two decades in the oil sector, Kyari has gone through the upstream and downstream oil and gas sector both as a field worker and as a manager at the exploration unit.

The new NNPC GMD’s appointment has also received positive feedback from stakeholders in the industry.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its reaction described Kyari as a “well-known transparency champion and one who enthusiastically shares the principles which underline the work of NEITI and the global EITI on good governance of the oil and gas industry”.

The transparency watchdog’s Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio, had said: “Mele Kyari’s appointment has placed him in a vantage position to push the frontiers of openness and to work more closely with NEITI and the global EITI to implement remedial issues in NEITI’s reports.”

Similarly, the Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, in his reaction also said “the appointment has come as no surprise, and is a testament to your (kyari’s) exemplary record and exceptional performance over the many years you have worked for NNPC in a variety of strategic roles.”

According to Barkindo, Kyari has “earned the respect of your colleagues in the ECB where you have conducted yourself with gravitas and greatly contributed to the discussions and decisions ofthis body.”

Meanwhile, prior to emerging the new NNPC GMD, Kyari served as head of the Crude Oil Marketing Division of the Corporation.

Under his watch, the division was able to help the nation save over $1 billion every year since 2016 through a procurement framework he put in place called the Direct Sale of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Petroleum Product (DSDP).

The geophysicist combined the position as head of NNPC’s Crude Oil Marketing Division with his role as Nigeria’s Representative in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) where he still renders his expertise in Crude oil and Gas production as well as marketing.