Sequel to his announcement last month that the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission (NNPC), will be unbundled, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the State House has announced.
A statement issued on Sunday by Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, said the president gave the order in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum.
“This is in consonance with Section 53(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which requires the Minister of Petroleum Resources to cause for the incorporation of the NNPC Limited within six months of commencement of the Act in consultation with the Minister of Finance on the nominal shares of the Company,” the statement said.
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The managing director of NNPC, Mele Kyari said in August that the Corporation will cease to exist within the next six months as specified by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He said the national oil company would be transformed into a private company that would pay taxes and dividends to its shareholders, and the new company would be incorporated under the Company Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
On track to deliver the unbundling in line with PIA, the statement said Kyari had been directed to take necessary steps to ensure that the incorporation of the NNPC Limited is consistent with the provisions of the PIA 2021. President Buhari has also approved the appointment of the Board and Management of the NNPC Limited, with effect from the date of incorporation of the company.
The President named Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as Chairman of the Board while Mele Kolo Kyari and Umar I. Ajiya were appointed as Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively.
Other Board Members are; Dr Tajudeen Umar (North East), Mrs Lami O. Ahmed (North Central), Mallam Mohammed Lawal (North West), Senator Margaret Chuba Okadigbo (South East), Barrister Constance Harry Marshal (South South), and Chief Pius Akinyelure (South West).
Buhari had last month approved a steering committee headed by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and made up of other members that include the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Executive Chairman, FIRS, Representative of the Ministry of Justice, Representative of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Natural Resources, Barrister Olufemi Lijadu as External Legal Adviser, and the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, who will serve as Head of the Coordinating Secretariat and the Implementation Working Group.
The primary responsibility of the steering committee will be to guide the effective and timely implementation of the PIA in the course of transition to the petroleum industry envisaged in the reform program, and ensure that the new institutions created have the full capability to deliver on their mandate under the new legislation.
The move to incorporate the NNPC has been as a result of the recently signed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which among other things, stipulates that a new company be incorporated under the Company Allied Matters Act (CAMA), in the stead of the NNPC within six months, and assets and liabilities of the NNPC be transferred to the new company.
The new company will pay taxes, royalties and dividends to its shareholders. The move has been touted as a practical way to make a much more efficient and commercial national oil company.