Reclaim nnpc: a necessary restoration to save the oil industry of Nigeria from the systemic rot, by Bala Mohammed – Thage

The recent revision of the Board of Directors and the Directorate NNPC Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not simply an administrative reshuffle: it is a decisive intervention in the national interest, aimed at saving the most strategic public enterprise of the country from systemic rot and institutional capture. The need for these appointments derives from the deeply worrying legacy of the management guided by Kyari apples, according to which the NNPC degenerated into a citadel of opacity, financial negligence and operational inefficiency, despite the transformative intent of the petroleum industry act (Pia) 2021.

Under the guidance of Kyari, Nnpc Limited has not satisfied even the most elementary standards of the corporate government and the transparency envisaged by a national oil -oriented oil company. Year after year, billions of dollars in raw oil revenues have been not reduced, underestimated or erroneously applied in various opaque agreements.

The so -called fuel subsidy regime, for which nnpc served as a primary supply agency, became a tax snappy, characterized by gross overvaluation, non -existent verification mechanisms and accusations of fictitious and packed volumes.

In the meantime, the critical investment decisions have been blocked, out and out of the country and the country has been unable to fully exploit the high oil prices due to bad management and losses.

The transition of NNPC into a limited liability company should have reported a new era of commercial discipline and responsibility.

Instead, Kyari’s mandate saw the refreshment of old habits under a new company guise. The company has spoiled control by retaining the controlled declarations, unable to commit themselves significantly with the shareholders – the Nigerian people – and resisting the structural reforms under the shoulders of national security or market sensitivity.

This threatened the confidence of the investors, bound capital in the sector and left the chain of the value of oil and the gas of Nigeria in a state of development arrested.

In this critical situation – where Nigeria must stabilize its tax base, accelerate the marketing of gas, attract investments and align with global energy transition trends – NNPC cannot continue to be a drain on the treasure or a bastion of disability.

The new advice and management, appointed with careful consideration of technical competence, ethical position and regional representation, brings with it a renewed mandate: cleaning the house, reconstructing trust and repositioning NNPC as a national oil company truly guided by performance.

This moment marks the beginning of a long -lasting turn, from the search for rent to the creation of value, from secrecy to transparency and institutional stagnation to strategic renewal. It is a necessary turning point for nnpc and, by extension, for the economic future of Nigeria.

-Mohammed is a financial analyst and public affairs

Post views:
163