NNPCL reiterates commitment to sell shares to the public

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has reaffirmed its intention to sell the company’s shares to Nigerians.

Its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, restated this while speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at the 22nd edition of the 2023 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Conference and Exhibition.

It would be recalled that on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari officially transformed the status of NNPC, making it a fully-fledged Limited Liability Company. By that decision it became Nigeria’s biggest company by share capital (with over 200 million shares) as it entered a new era 44 years after it was established.

Though the company had since then promised Nigerians opportunities to acquire its shares, that intention is yet to materialise.

Speaking on the topic, “Redefining Nigeria’s Energy Landscape for a Sustainable Energy Future’’ Kyari stated the decision to go public and sell shares is based on the law.

“As a Company that is guided under the regulations of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the NNPC Ltd. will make its shares available to the public for acquisition very soon. We will pay taxes; we will pay royalties like anyone; we will also pay dividends to our shareholders which many of you are.

“We are in business and business means competition. We are a private sector, forget about the fact that we are own by the government 100%. You are also aware, we are going Initial Public Offer very soon, we will sell a part of our equity”.

Kyari added that the step-by-step process of declaring its shares for sale is documented in the law. However, there are apprehensions regarding Nigeria’s significant reliance on hydrocarbons and the extensive reforms undertaken by NNPC to stimulate oil exploration and refining, which might place the country at a disadvantage in the global shift towards gas.

Nigeria’s oil production is currently grappling with various security challenges, such as crude oil theft, insurgency, banditry, and ransom kidnappings, he said.

The conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future”, was well-attended by regulators, leaders, policymakers and other industry stakeholders.