Dragging us, our staff into politics may threaten Nigeria’s oil investments – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  has said that the ongoing attempts by politicians to drag its name into partisan politics was a potent danger to the corporation’s business interests, contract deals and MoUs which should ordinarily be insulated from politics.

The corporation therefore called on politicians and those canvassing for votes for the impending general elections, to refrain from using NNPC or its top management as cannon fodders for their electioneering strategies.

NNPC spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said using the corporation as a launch-pad for political attacks against opponents was not only a disservice to the overall national interest, but also inimical to the national economy, given NNPC’s pivotal role as cash cow of the nation.

The NNPC spokesperson said the call for restrains by politicians became necessary in the wake of the names of some of its top management being dragged into partisan politics.

Ughamadu said as a National Oil Company with partners in almost all the continents of the world, the ongoing attempts by politicians to drag the name of the corporation into the murky arena of partisan politics was a potent danger to the corporation’s business interests, its multi-faceted contract deals and MoUs which should ordinarily be insulated from political brinkmanship.

The NNPC explained that while it might be understandable for politicians to seek the hearts and souls of the electorate, attempting the feat by way of dragging NNPC into the fray was unfair and irrational, as the business environment in which it operates is not designed to withstand the shock from such careless and unguarded diatribes.

The corporation urged political office seekers to note that the NNPC was a public corporate entity run by well-groomed technocrats who are apolitical and inclined only to their fiduciary responsibility to the government and people of Nigeria irrespective of religion, tribe or political affiliation.