Atiku accuses NNPC of “layers of deceit,” seeks its listing on Stock Exchange to ensure transparency
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Atiku Abubakar has slammed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) for being full of “layers of deceit” and demanded its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to ensure its transparency for a positive change.
The former Vice President also alleged the NNPC provides political protection for Bola Tinubu’s policy inconsistencies, including on the payment fuel subsidy and failing to take responsibility for the mess, even though he is both President and Petroleum Minister.
All of this, Atiku said in a statement, raise questions about the independence the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) requires of the NNPC as a private business concern operated on behalf of the government.
After months of denial, NNPC Chief Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye finally confirmed on Sunday the company owes $6 billion to refined fuel suppliers, a debt causing severe financial strain on operations and partly responsible for fuel scarcity in many petrol stations.
“NNPC Ltd has acknowledged recent reports regarding its significant debt to petrol suppliers. This financial strain threatens the sustainability of fuel supply,” Soneye said in a statement, but stressed the NNPC is committed to its role as the supplier of last resort and is working with government agencies to ensure a consistent supply of petroleum products nationwide.
“What has become of these fictitious or phantom profits you once proudly proclaimed? Layers of deceit and lack of transparency have brought you to this unfortunate juncture,” Atiku reacted in a statement issued on X (Twitter) through his Media Aide Phrank Shaibu.
He accused Tinubu of driving the NNPC to ruin and the “ruthless dismantling of its assets.”
Atiku added: “The NNPCL is supposed to have been listed on the stock exchange in line with the Petroleum Industry Act [PIA]. This would make the company more profitable and enhance transparency and corporate governance.
“Currently, the NNPCL claims to be private, but this is only a ruse to fool the feeble-minded because it remains the ATM [automated teller machine] of the Federal Government. Anything short of listing the NNPCL on the stock exchange is nothing but a cosmetic development.”
He recounted that previous arrangements and concessions by the NNPC could not work because of a lack of transparency in the contract award process as well as the failure of the government to attract investors.
For such privatisation to succeed, he stressed, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and a credible technical partner like Standard and Poor’s must be part of the process.
In his view, the NNPCL is “a cesspool of endemic corruption,” citing how former President Olusegun Obasanjo recently disclosed that Shell, one of the world’s wealthiest oil companies, rejected the offer to operate Nigeria’s refineries.
“This is why over $20 billion that has been spent on the refineries in the last 20 years has led to nowhere. It is also curious that a government that is still paying petrol subsidy is trying to make its refineries profitable. Which businessman will invest in a refinery that has been programmed to operate at a loss?
“The ‘manage and operate’ approach has not always worked. The Manitoba Hydro International, which was handed to the Transmission Company of Nigeria, led to nowhere. Similarly, Global Steel Limited, which was handed to the Ajaokuta Steel Company, was not able to make the facility profitable.
“The contract was questionably revoked by the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration, and Nigeria ended up paying Global Steel a compensation of nearly $500 million while Ajaokuta remains comatose 17 years later.”
Atiku advised the NNPC not to obscure the contract process as it did with OVH in 2023, which both “dubious” and “failed” to boost fuel sufficiency.
“In 2022, Nueoil, an unknown and newly registered company, acquired OVH and Oando filling stations. Barely four months later, NNPCL Retail bought Nueoil and took control of all its assets, including the Oando filling stations. Barely eight months later, OVH turned around to take over NNPCL Retail.
“This convoluted transaction was done in order to hide the corruption involved. If this is the approach that the NNPCL wants to use in handing over its refineries to private hands, then Nigerians should not expect any positive development whatsoever.”
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