President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday received the certificate of incorporation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) saying the country expected nothing less from the board of directors, the chief executive officer and the chief finance officer than the realisation of a global national oil company that Nigeria desires and deserves.
Under the recently signed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is expected to transform into a limited liability company.
The president described the incorporation as “a significant milestone in our quest to create an enduring national energy company that can compete with its global peers and deliver value to its shareholders, the Nigerian people.”
He said his expectation was for a speedy transition through taking all steps required to transfer assets, human and material, “and without wasting time to capitalise the company as required by the Petroleum Industry Act.”
Buhari said he was happy to note that the national assembly has confirmed his nominations for the board and management of the two regulatory institutions, and expects immediate take-off to facilitate effective implementation of the provisions of the PIA “on accelerated gas development and optimization of oil production and support for energy transition.”
In his remarks, group managing director of NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, said the incorporation was “history made again, a massive transformation from what we know, to where we are going,” under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He added that lots of values have been delivered in the past six years, “and we still have further accountability and values to deliver.”
Also speaking, the registrar/chief executive officer of the CAC, Mr. Garba Abubakar, said the registration, accomplished within 24 hours, complied with all requirements of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the PIA.
He described the new company as the one with the “largest capitalisation of N200 billion in the country.”
He added that the registration in the short time, “underscores strong collaborations among agencies of government.”
Recall that the president signed the PIA into law on August 16.
According to Buhari, the PIA creates a regulatory environment that will ensure efficiency and accountability across the oil and gas value chain and reposition NNPC to a commercially driven national petroleum company accountable to the federation.
