Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has formally inaugurated the management board of three parastatals in the ministry – the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board (PEF), and the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI).
The government had in May constituted board members for the agencies. PPPRA for instance has a former Managing Director of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Alhaji Mohammed Buba, as its board chair.
But speaking at the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday in Abuja, Kachikwu said the new boards are coming at a time when the global petroleum industry is witnessing a downturn in fortunes, which has also translated to reduction in revenue levels from petroleum by most producer nations.
He stated that the composition of the boards was thorough and persons who have both the experience and knowledge to guide the three parastatals into harnessing their potentials and fulfilling the nation’s expectations at this challenging times were selected.
“Last week, Mr. President inaugurated the boards of NNPC, NCDMB and NNRA under the ministry of petroleum and he charged them to achieve a key objective of this administration which is to institutionalise transparency and accountability in the agencies in this critical ministry.
“Mr. President expects you to take full leadership and drive the complete reforms of these parastatals and work closely with their heads,” Kachikwu said.
He further stated: “For PPPRA, the expectation is of the board to provide the necessary steers and guidance to the management on ensuring the maintenance of national petroleum products sufficiency and ensure the growth of the petroleum products strategic reserves.
“For PEF, the expectation from the members of the board is for them to ensure that the automated product tracking system from depots to stations is completed nationwide and every molecule of petroleum product is tracked to the retail station.
“For PTI, the expectation from the members of the board is for them to superintend the transformation of PTI to world class oil and gas training institute that run commercially viable courses and grow the number of high value clients within the industry and make it a cynosure institution in the continent.”
