The boss of NNPC, Mele Kyari, gave important pipeline jobs to four oil companies, including two shops that sell oil. Some experts think this is too much power for shops to have over the country. It might not be fair to other shops and people.
There's a belief held by some that a influential Northern group still holds sway over the oil industry, even though Buhari is no longer president. This perception stems from the fact that two Northern-owned businesses, A.A.Rano Nigeria Limited and MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, were given significant contracts.
These two businesses frequently receive preferential treatment from NNPC. As an example, in 2021, they were granted contracts to exchange crude oil for fuel, ensuring the country's vehicles and planes remained operational.
Now, by giving them these pipeline contracts, it looks like the Northern group is still in control. The contracts are divided into different parts, and MRS Oil got the most important part, LOT 4, which covers places in the South-West.
A.A Rano got LOT 2, which controls the South-South area. Some people worry this gives too much power to the North, letting them decide things like who gets fuel and at what price. They might favor certain shops and ignore others, even if it means some places don't get enough fuel.
Experts in the industry think this is a bad move. They say it's not right for regular shops to have this much control. They think it could cause problems in the future.
The way these contracts were given out secretly makes people believe the powerful group is still doing things behind the scenes. NNPC defended paying a lot of money to someone named Tompolo to protect the pipelines, but they haven't said much about giving contracts to A.A. Rano and MRS Oil.
They didn't say if President Bola Tinubu, who's in charge of oil, knew about these secret contracts. Mele Kyari, the NNPC boss, didn't say anything about it either.
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