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The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Eterna Plc, Mr. Lukman Lawal said he will like to become a Transformational Leader that will push the fortunes of the company to a higher level in all ramifications.
Speaking in an Exclusive Interview with Crude Reports magazine at his Ikoyi Lagos office, Mr. Lawal who took over the mantle of leadership in April this year noted that despite certain challenges manifesting in the Nigerian oil and gas industry at the moment, Eterna Plc has a rich history, a committed and dynamic board of directors coupled with determined and focused members of staff that will make things happen in the positive direction for the company established thirty-five years ago.
Mr. Abiola Lawal told Crude Reports magazine that the problems facing the oil and gas industry in Nigeria looks difficult but they are surmountable. In his words “Foreign exchange is a problem, the volatility and getting Foreign exchange is a struggle, there is inflation which puts a lot of pressure on planning and financing, while bad roads keep making delivery of petroleum products to the customers delayed than the targeted time deadline. 
Inspite of all these challenges, there is a way out. There has to be full deregulation of the oil and gas sector while forces of demand and supply can interact and determine prices and there should be no monopoly of supply by anyone as private marketers should be free to get products both locally and overseas as it suits their decision and enhance profitability.”
Asked to give an insight on plans to reposition Eterna Oil Plc, especially with the advantage of his highly loaded credentials and work experiences that cover major big companies in Nigeria and abroad for over twenty-five years now. The soft spoken Mr. Lawal said, “Eterna Plc has footprints in Nigeria in several oil and gas activities, we will look for the right opportunities and be guided by what our shareholders and stakeholders can have the best from in terms of development opportunities and we would be guided by the realities on the ground and we will be open transparently as well as focus on staff needs and requirements because the industry will grow more competitive for talents and innovation.” 
What is the future like for Eterna as the Chief Executive Officer? Adjusting his seating position and beaming with confident smiles, Mr. Lukman Lawal explained that his first priorities are, “To stabilise the company, ensure there are no challenging losses, No foreign exchange losses and then grow the company. We will look at the dynamics of the industry ,deregulation, we have to be astute and be ready to compete, be dynamic in our operations and put our resources to use from the perspectives of profitability, we want to be African energy preferred choice, as we operate in Nigeria, we will be looking out for opportunities outside that will take us to other parts of Africa and I can see Eterna of the future becoming a big player in the new drive towards the emerging revolution in the gas and CNG projects that will boost the Nigerian economy”
The interview session rounded off with the question on what he plans to leave behind as legacy in Eterna Plc. With a tone ringing with undoubted confidence, Mr. Lukman Lawal said “Though we came in during a challenging period, we want to move the company from a negative column to a positive one, I want to be a transformative leader, A leader of men and women that leads a good team, I want to leave the company solid, solid in finance base, especially for a public company where our daily activities are recorded in numbers. I will definitely want to be remembered for the positive transformative journey, gets my team to deliver value to all our critical stakeholders of the company and improve on the legacy we met on ground. We have to stay positive on the journey and shareholders should be better off and we should leave behind a very good team.”
By Tunde Olaore
