Chekwas Okorie, a former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has stated that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) made a justified decision in awarding the pipeline surveillance contract to former ex-militant leader Ekpemupolo Government, also known as Tompolo. Contrary to concerns raised by some Nigerians regarding this contract, Okorie asserted that the NNPCL’s investment in this endeavor was not squandered.
Speaking to our correspondent in Enugu, Okorie explained that the NNPCL would have taken decisive measures to terminate the contract if the substantial investment wasn’t yielding satisfactory returns.
He pointed out that individuals criticizing the company or its stakeholders for the contract’s size have not taken proper notice of the impactful work the company has been undertaking since being granted the contract.
According to Okorie, the company’s activities have played a crucial role in bringing to light the reality of pipelines being extended deep into the ocean, where pilfered crude oil is loaded onto vessels and illicitly transported to other destinations.
He said: “It is the NNPC, a limited liability company now, that awarded that contract. I believe they know what the whole country was losing before that they entered into that contract. The figure did not just fall from the sky. There are certain issues they must have considered. It is not the kind of contract that required budgetary allocation from the national assembly. It is a company contract that was given to somebody to help it fight revenue loss through crude oil theft.
“So, it is the company that will decide whether they have made the right decision or not. If they are not getting adequate returns from that huge investment, I am sure there is also in the contract, clause, like in any other contract, to cancel it. So, if they cancel it while the firm is still doing their job without being found wanting, there will also be penalty for breach of contract.
“So, people just sit back to make comments without taking time to ask what it is that the company has been doing since it was awarded this contract. And what is the content of the contract as well as the process of cancelling it if you have to; and the penalty that would come as a result of the abrupt cancellation of the contract on the part of the NNPCL. Will it be what is worth going into? These are the issues any honest and dispassionate person wanting to criticize any parts business any public company has gone into should be able to avail himself with before just saying ‘cancel, one man cannot take it’.
“You can call it one man. But as far as the contract is concerned, it is between NNPCL and another company. That Tompolo is the chief executive officer of the company does not really matter much.
“There are even companies owned by Nigerians and non-Nigerians that are executing contracts that are way above than that amount of money given to Tompolo. Whether it is in dollar or naira, they are there.
Okorie noted: “I’m not close to their operations. But, from what I have read in the papers, some of the things they discovered just few weeks after they started operations, which people never knew that those kind of things are there. Or, it was not in the public knowledge that pipes were being laid far into the sea from where vessels were picking up stolen crude oil and exporting elsewhere.
“I know that in this kind of thing, there will be so much envy. People believe there were all in the creek and militants and therefore it should be some kind of national cake. But, he made his proposal and it was accepted. Let them think out their own proposal and see how they can market it and not envying someone else’s.
“I’m not also saying that government or public institutions should throw away money. I don’t think NNPC can do that. It is a company that has many shareholders. It is not only government-owned now. Government is a majority shareholder. There are other shareholders and it is for the board to take a look at it.
“All these while people have been campaigning and some people have been criticizing, those who awarded the contract have not said a word, meaning that they are satisfied with the job done and that those who criticizing the business they entered into are wasting their time.”
