Minister of State for Petroelum Resources and former NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, handed over to the new NNPC boss, Dr Maikanti Baru.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday appointed Baru as the new GMD of the NNPC.
Speaking at the handing over formalities on Friday, Kachikwu said:
“I want you to know that this is a great task; be focused and see it as a service to the nation, work hard to leave a great legacy.
“It is not how long you stay that matters but how well, look for legacy issues and work on it, I will give you every support that will help you to supersede what I have achieved”
He said that the corporation had undergone series of restructuring that should be sustained to enable it move to the next level.
Kachikwu said that NNPC had achieved a lot in the past 11 months.
He added:
“We need to find structure in which private fund will be used to help our refineries to work at 90 per cent capacity.
“Our target is to ensure that by 2019, we will no long export crude’’
He advised Baru to focus on deregulation, product availability, infrastructure development, legacy audit and restructuring.
“Be apolitical, be focused on success, believe in your skills, work with a team and be determined to succeed in your assignment,’’ he said.
Responding, Baru promised to justify the confidence reposed in him.
“I will like to appreciate the minister and chairman of the NNPC board for all his support he has given me when I was the GED and his special adviser on Gas matters.
“I will continue to count on your kind support as I embark on the task of building NNPC from where you stopped,” he said.
Baru said that he would continue to work with the staff to maximise output with the fall out of positive restructuring that had taken place in the corporation.
He said that his major focus would be to create an all inclusive internal advisory console on security comprising representatives from NNPC, International Oil Companies (IOC), unions, among others.
