The nomination of Jean-Marc Cordier as the head of the oil trading branch of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited has sparked different concerns among industry professionals and operators.
Cordier will oversee NNPC Trade Ltd, a subsidiary of NNPCL, and this was stated in a statement made in Abuja by the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Garba-Deen Muhammad.
The statement, however, provoked resentment among analysts and operators on Monday, whereas other specialists saw nothing wrong with the move. The
Energy specialist and Chief Executive Officer, of Sage Consulting, Bode Fadipe, stated, “It is of worry to most Nigerians that at this period of our lives, we are still having a foreigner in such a critical economic company in our nation.
“The issue many people would ask is that, don’t we have Nigerians who can run that office? Are the expatriates now investors in the firm or is it a joint venture that permits a foreigner to occupy that type of position?
“Has NNPC Ltd sold its shares to the public? To the best of my understanding, it is still the Nigerian government that holds the shares in NNPCL. It is still controlled by the government, so when did it start selecting foreigners to such a level?”
Fadipe said this was the first time he would see such an appointment at the national oil firm, calling the event odd.
“I believe that is an outlier. I don’t know what would have inspired that type of viewpoint, but I believe it is a scenario that begs for additional interrogation,” the energy expert remarked.
But on his side, a legal expert and energy law adviser, Prof. Yemi Oke, stated that under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, NNPCL should be a continuing business, since there were conditions under the law for appointments.
“There are other Nigerian organizations who have ex-pats as workers, all they need is to comply with the expatriate quota and establish that there’s no local labour trained enough to man that specific office, owing to the technical nature of the position,” he remarked.
But, an authoritative source inside the national oil business informed our reporter that most financially successful subsidiaries of NNPCL will be controlled by expatriates, moving ahead.
“I was credibly informed that in most subsidiaries or units that are financially successful, the activities would be overseen by expatriates, with the people in the M3 category now restricted to administrative scheduling.
“This is similar with NNPC Retails (the filling stations arm), NETCO (National Engineering and Technological Company), NPDC (Nigeria Upstream Development Corporation), etc,” the source, who begged not to be identified due to lack of permission, noted.
The source continued, “If the expatriates are on M3 NNPC grade (Executive Vice President is M2, Group Chief Executive Officer is M1), would that not lead to competition and strife, at the cost of the company’s man-hours?”
When asked what then could be the reasons for appointing expatriates if the units to be headed by them were currently commercially viable under the management of indigenes, the source replied, “Perhaps, it is to instil higher productivity, improved net profit, better efficiency and operational effectiveness.”
NNPCL, in a statement, said Cordier, served as a former Vice President of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, adding that his appointment was in furtherance of the current repositioning in the firm for improved growth, better performance and service delivery.
The statement said in part, “A famous worldwide oil trader, Cordier, a French/Swiss citizen, has a Masters’s degree in Corporate Finance with Distinction from Paris 9 University.
“He comes into the post with a strong career spanning over 30 years in physical oil, oil derivatives, and risk management, with substantial expertise in reorganising and developing a trading business.”
Also reacting to the development, the President, of Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo, said NNPCL should attempt to boost the local content initiative of the Federal Government.
“Does that indicate that there are no qualified Nigerians who could perform the same job, in the promotion of indigenous content? NNCPL has a mission of refining petroleum products and it is a national corporation.
“So for it to suddenly go out to hunt for a foreigner demonstrates that it is going the wrong route. Was it started exclusively as an oil marketing company? I believe that move is a misalignment on this part,” he remarked.
