The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has attributed the ₦287 billion profit after tax declared by the Corporation for the 2020 financial year to a number of pragmatic measures, including cost-cutting and none interference from any quarters.

Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Abuja, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari had unveiled the financial performances of the Corporation and commended it for the feat, the GMD also looked at improved efficiency through business automation and emphasis on commercially-focused investments as other factors that

contributed to the turn-around of the Corporation from a loss of ₦803 billion in 2018 to profit of ₦287 billion in 2020.

Mele Kyari said that the Corporation saved a lot of cost through contract renegotiation by up to 30 percent on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, introduction of technology that drastically cut travel cost through reduction in in-person meetings and the general automation of processes that enhanced efficiency across the group’s businesses.

He said that Management’s focus on the prioritization of investment and staff welfare also helped in boosting the Corporation’s overall productivity and bottom line.

Speaking earlier while kick-starting the press conference, the Alternate Chairman of the NNPC Board of Directors and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who joined the press conference virtually, congratulated the GMD, Management and staff of the Corporation on the feat of posting profit for the first time since its incorporation in 1977.

He said that NNPC’s emergence from loss into profitability, coming shortly after the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Bill, was a proud moment for him, adding that this was a season of achievements for the nation’s oil and gas sector.

Members of the NNPC Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Mallam Mohammed Lawal, Dr. Tajudeen Umar and Mrs. Lami Onayi Ahmed, who were present at the event, also echoed the Minister and congratulated the Management and staff of the Corporation on the feat.

President Buhari has rolled the drum to celebrate the three positive consecutive growth of the Nigeria’s economy, especially the highest quarterly growth in GDP since 2014.

Reacting to the report of the 2021 quarter performance by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in a statement today, August 26 by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, the President

commended managers of the economy for hard work and commitment, asking them to keep at it till the positive development “touches the lives and pockets of the average Nigerian.”

The President took note of the decline in real growth in the oil sector in Q2 2021, compared to a year ago, whereas oil production levels were at 1.62 million barrels per day, compared to 1.67 million barrels per day in Q2 2020.

He said that the lower production output as well as the volatility in oil prices since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the decline in performance of the oil sector.

President Buhari assured that recent reforms and efforts like the conclusion of the Marginal Fields Bid Round, the renewed focus on gas development (including the NLNG Train 7 project, and various pipeline construction projects) as well as the passage and assent to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), would attract new investment to the oil and gas sector, and create conditions for more robust levels of growth in the future.

Looking to the future, the President assured Nigerians that there is much to be optimistic about, adding that the investments in agriculture and infrastructure will continue, as will on-going efforts to achieve a significant improvement in the security situation across the country.

“There is no doubt that a more secure environment – which the security agencies are working hard to achieve – will spur and energize the shoots of economic progress being seen and felt in the country.”

According to the NBS report, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.01% in Q2 2021 following 0.51% growth in Q1 2021. This growth, which continues the progress of the preceding two quarters, is a continuing trend reflecting Nigeria’s economic rebound following the COVID-19-induced contractions seen in Q1 and Q2 2020.

The non-oil sector is a significant contributor to the economic performance in Q2 2021 with growth of 6.74% in real terms, the fastest growth in the sector since the third quarter of 2014. The contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP increased from 91.07% in Q2 2020 to 92.58% in Q2 2021.

The main drivers of the Q2 2021 economic growth include Trade, Information and Communication (mainly Telecommunications), Transportation, Electricity, Agriculture (Crop Production) and Manufacturing.

The service sector, specifically, recorded its strongest performance in more than a decade, growing at 9.27%.

These main growth drivers of this second quarter performance are reflective of the gains from easing restriction of movement locally and internationally, and the improvement in the business and economic environment compared to the same period in 2020.

Femi Adesina emphasized that the various policies of the Buhari administration, aimed at boosting agricultural production, improving the business environment, and investing massively in infrastructure, are beginning to yield fruit.

‘Equally gratifying is the complementary news of the steady decline in the rate of inflation, over the last few months.

“The positive effects of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), which helped fast-track the country’s exit from the COVID-induced recession of 2020, continue to be evident, as some of the sectors driving the Q2 2021 growth have benefited or are benefiting from government-led interventions.

“The successful roll-out of vaccines and COVID-19 protocols has also helped to reduce pressures on the healthcare system and the need for a lockdown.”