Delta Governor, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has felicitated with Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, on his 56th birthday.

Okowa said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, that Kyari was a dedicated professional who had contributed tremendously to the growth of Nigeria’s oil industry.

He remarked that the NNPC chief was an outstanding administrator, whose reforms at the corporation culminated to, among others, the attainment of 1.5 Billion Standard Cubic Feet production per day and its equity production at 1.38 billion cubic feet of gas per day as at November, 2020.

“Mallam Kyari’s leadership at the NNPC as its 19th chief executive has been largely characterized by outstanding vision in commitment to efficiency, openness, transparency and prudence in service delivery geared at attaining the objectives of the corporation and meeting the expectations of shareholders.

“The NNPC and its joint venture partners under his leadership have continued to contribute to poverty reduction, economic and social development, especially in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic,” he stated.

The governor commended Kyari for his Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) agenda which, he said, had seen NNPC become profitable after many years of controversies surrounding oil productions and earnings.

“Let me commend Mallam Kyari and his team for what they are doing to improve on the operations of the NNPC.

“Kyari has continued to demonstrate transparency and accountability by publishing the monthly operational report of the NNPC, with a step further of publishing its annual audited financial statement, which had not been done in 43 years of its operations.

“Worthy of commendation is the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the four billion-dollar NLNG Train7 and his continued drive towards completing long-standing gas infrastructure projects such as the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System Phase 2 and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline.”

On behalf of his family, the government and people of Delta, Okowa congratulated Kyari on the birth anniversary, saying: “I join your family, colleagues at NNPC, industry players, associates and friends to thank Almighty God for your life which has been marked by remarkable outstanding accomplishments.

“As you deservedly celebrate this anniversary, it is my prayer that God continues to bless you with robust health and many more years of happiness and contributions to nation building.”

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