By Seyi Babalola
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) be listed on the stock exchange immediately, by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Atiku stated that the demand followed the NNPCL’s decision to give over the Warri and Kaduna refineries to private operators.
According to him, the NNPCL has continued to offer political cover for President Bola Tinubu’s government’s inconsistent subsidy payment policies.
Atiku said this raises questions about the independence that the PIA requires of the NNPC Limited as a private business concern.
This was made known on Sunday in a statement by Paul Ibe, Media Adviser to Atiku.
“The NNPCL is supposed to have been listed on the stock exchange in line with the Petroleum Industry Act. 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 of the Federal Government. Anything short of listing the NNPCL on the stock exchange is nothing but a cosmetic development,” he said.
Atiku also questioned the feasibility of the NNPC’s latest plan even as he pointed out that such arrangements in the past had not been profitable.
He advised the NNPCL not to make the contract process opaque like it did with OVH last year.
