The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has called on media stakeholders to ensure the projection and protection of the entity as a major national asset.
The national oil company said its operations directly affect all Nigerians and therefore cautioned on the spread of wrong narratives about its activities.
Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPCL Femi Soneye appealed Thursday while receiving Managing Director/Chief Executive Blueprint Newspapers Salisu Umar during a courtesy visit to the NNPC Tower in Abuja.
While commending Blueprint’s reportage of the company’s activities, he said the Mele Kyari-led management was moving the company in the right direction, and should therefore be commended by all and not vilified.
“Whatever we do here in NNPCL affects us all. This is our collective asset, and we must be prepared to do anything to ensure wrong narratives are not pushed or accommodated in any form. It might interest you to know that the GCEO (Mele Kyari) is also tasking the staff members to make sacrifices in certain areas in line with the reality of today’s Nigeria. Not many people know this, but those of us who are affected are aware because we are the ones making the sacrifice.
“Oil business is being done all over the world on loan. You take for instance, if the NNPCL wants to go for hybrids, talking of using electricity to power our cars, NNPCL doesn’t have that money. Look at the CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), if this is to be done in a multitude, in several stations across the country, we need trillions to do this. So, where is the money? All the company can do is to go out there and source for money, of course, using its crude. But, when you now meet the financiers, the first thing they tell you is to show you the wrong narratives published by our own people. This will not be helping our cause as a nation.
“Take it from me, you can’t see a French magazine calling Total Business a fraud, you won’t see it. We are not saying the media should not do its job. No, that’s not it. What we are saying is that understanding the dynamics of how the company works and the challenges it faces will go a long way in guiding the media reportage of its activities. For us at this end, we are always ready for a partnership that will add value to what we are doing here.
“Most people don’t know this, but I tell you that the Mele-Kyari – led team is seriously steering the ship of this company in the right direction, and this is a fact every Nigerian must endeavour to understand. As media stakeholders, we must not publish what will bring this organisation into disrepute.”
He added: “The crude theft phenomenon is one area that has continued to slow down the company’s journey. Well, what can we do here at NNPCL? We don’t carry guns, you saw the engineer that came in now, he wasn’t with any gun. We can only continue to commend the military and other security agencies for doing a great job and also appeal to them to do more in further reducing this national embarrassment called crude oil theft. We are all Nigerians, and should always be conscious of our national growth.”
Earlier in his remarks, Managing Director/CE Blueprint Newspapers Malam Umar had called for a partnership between the NNPCL and the medium “so that Nigerians can know more about what NNPCL is doing and stem the tide of misinformation and disinformation.
“Honestly, your open-door style of relating with the media has really helped you tremendously on this seat. However, I want to urge you to collaborate with our organisation to add value to what you are doing here. In Blueprint, objectivity is our watchword and we are always interested in safeguarding and promoting our national cause, NNPCL, being a major one.
“Yes, since coming on board, you have been engaging with the media, but I want you to take it a notch higher by engaging with the editors at all levels so they can understand what the organisation is doing and how it is doing it to achieve some level of results.
“Before now, I had always thought the oil theft was a mirage to justify the experience Nigerians pass through in fuel supply. With this visit, I am better informed and enlightened, and I want to assure you that Blueprint will always be there for the NNPCL in terms of telling the story as it is through our various platforms, namely; Blueprint Daily, Weekend Blueprint, Manhaja (our Hausa tabloid which comes out every Friday), and our very strong online platforms.”
Culled from Blueprint Newspaper
