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NNPC Boss Bags 2020 Zik Award on Leadership

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3 years ago

December 5, 2021

NNPC boss bags 2020 Zik award on leadership

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, has bagged the 2020 Zik Prize for Public Service Leadership for his transformation drive in the national oil company.

As stated, the NNPC boss eas singled out for the honour following his relentless efforts in transforming the fortunes of the NNPC from a position of loss-making into a profit- making venture.

The award which was conferred on Kyari by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) was said to be part of the Centre’s measures of commending public officers who are committed to the development of offices and companies they are overseeing.

Speaking on behalf of the Centre during the award event recently at the Eko Hotel, Lagos, Chief Mac Wabara said that Kyari was recognized following his distinguished leadership role and sterling achievements in the NNPC.

The roles and achievements, he said, were all evident through the various reforms he instituted at the corporation through transparency, accountability, team work and recourse to President Muhammad Buhari’s administration anti-corruption drive.

He said: “Mele Kyari continues to seamlessly transform the operations of NNPC, including deepening domestic gas utilization, rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and public disclosure of NNPC accounts, the first in NNPC’s 44 years of existence.”

He added that Kyari’s greatest achievement was by turning around the fortunes of the NNPC, from a loss of position, into a profit-making entity.

“Under Kyari’s watch at the NNPC, the company declared a profit after tax of N287bn in 2020 after losses were reduced from N803bn in 2018 to N1.7bn in 2019. This is unprecedented in the history of the NNPC,” Wabara stated.

He further explained that Kyari also consistently played a huge role in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), stressing that with the coming of the legislation, the NNPC was now well-positioned to operate efficiently, like its global peers.

Responding, the NNPC boss said that in the last two years, the NNPC has automated its processes and systems; reduced its costs of operations and focused on delivering value to Nigerians, in line with his Management vision of Transparency, Accountability & Performance Excellence (TAPE).

He added that the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has placed huge responsibility on the NNPC to do things differently and be much more accountable to its shareholders, the over 200 million Nigerians.

He said that the Zik Leadership award would spur him and his management team to work harder towards becoming an International National Oil Company that was at par with its global peers.

Dignitaries at the well-attended event include the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero; Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd) and several other dignitaries. Kyari received the latest recognition from the Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

Other recipients of the prestigious Zik Leadership Award include the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Nasarawa State Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim; Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora; Director-General and CEO of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamo and MD/CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Uche Orji.

Established in 1994 by the PPRAC and now in its 26th edition, the Zik Prize in Leadership is aimed at highlighting Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s legacy of patriotic fervor and nationalist vision.