Alhaji Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua, the newly appointed Acting Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday read the riot act to staff of the organisation, declaring that there would be zero tolerance for corruption during his tenure. He spoke at a valedictory session in honour of Dr. Funsho Kupolokun, his immediate predecessor, at the NNPC corporate headquarters in Abuja.

The Acting Group Managing Director admitted that the downstream sector posed a big challenge to the management of the corporation and that little or nothing would be achieved without the support of staff.
He pledged that should the Corporation fail to address the challenges posed by the downstream sector, he would be the first to go.
“I believe staff are the greatest assets of any organisation and so we shall train and retrain our staff. The staff remains one of our top priorities,” he said, adding: “The perception that NNPC is a black box is a hoax and we welcome anybody to confront us to know what we are doing. We believe it is the right of every Nigerian to know what we are doing."

He said the NNPC under his tenure would add value to the industry, especially in the areas of renewable energy, Nigerian content and other initiatives of Kupolokun. “The NNPC will contribute its quota to government's desire to revamp the energy sector and make Nigeria one of the world’s 20 most developed economies by year 2020,” he said. Yar’Adua thanked President Umaru Yar’Adua for giving him the opportunity to serve and promised to do his best.

Also speaking from a prepared text entitled: “My Journey Traversing the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry,” Dr. Kupolokun summarised his 36 years in the industry, capturing his entry into the company from 1971-1993, through when he was removed from the Corporation between 1994 and 1999 and his eventual emergence as a political appointee and as GMD. He said he was leaving the NNPC better than he met it and thanked the staff and industry operators for their support.

In a goodwill message, Dr. Jackson Gauis-Obaseki, Kupolokun’s predecessor said Kupolokun had successfully built upon and preserved the legacy he left behind and urged him to enjoy his retirement.
He said he was particularly satisfied with Kupolokun’s efforts especially when considered against the background that he had too many people to please. “Once you are at the top, there is no other way to go, it’s got to be out,” he said.

He also recalled achievements recorded during his tenure and said when he was leaving office, he urged staff to ensure if they had given him 40 per cent support they should extend 80 per cent support to Kupolokun. Obaseki also advised the new GMD to strive to establish his own legacy, not forgetting that he would also follow suit one day. Also speaking, Senator Jubril Aminu, one-time Minister of Petroleum said Kopolokun was a member of his think-tank who assisted him in attaining a better understanding of the intricacies of the oil and gas industry during his time. He described him as an intelligent and hardworking person who accomplished an incredible amount of work during his tenure. “In a sobre moment, Nigerians will thank him indeed,” he said.

Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum), in his speech, urged journalists to apply some restraint in their reporting oil and gas-related events especially given the sensitive nature of the industry. He said he had known Kupolokun at one time in his career and was impressed by his in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian oil and gas sector. The Minister said the retired GMD would still be needed to give professional advice as the occasion demands.

Abubakar Lawal Yar’Adua was born on 14th July, 1949 in Yar’Adua Community in Katsina State, Engr. Yar’Adua has never worked anywhere outside the NNPC since he joined the Corporation as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) in 1976.

A graduate of Chemical Technology from the Sofia University, Bulgaria in 1974, from where he also obtained a Masters degree in 1976, Yar’Adua rapidly rose to become Executive Director of KPRC in August 1995 and then Managing Director from June 1999 to January 2000.
Before his new appointment, he was the Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals.