{"id":46523,"date":"2024-09-01T21:10:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T21:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=46523"},"modified":"2024-09-01T21:15:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01T21:15:56","slug":"atiku-demands-immediate-listing-of-nnpc-limited-on-stock-exchange-in-line-with-provisions-of-petroleum-industry-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2024\/09\/01\/atiku-demands-immediate-listing-of-nnpc-limited-on-stock-exchange-in-line-with-provisions-of-petroleum-industry-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Atiku Demands Immediate Listing of NNPC Limited on Stock Exchange in Line with Provisions of Petroleum Industry Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate listing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) on the stock exchange in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.<\/p>\n

Atiku said this in reaction to the decision of the NNPCL to hand over the Warri and Kaduna refineries to private operators who are expected to manage and operate them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He further stated that the NNPC Limited continues to provide a cover of political protection to the Tinubu government\u2019s policy inconsistency on the payment of subsidy, raising questions about the independence that the PIA requires of the NNPC Limited as a private business concern.<\/p>\n

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate said previous arrangements and concessions had not worked because of a lack of transparency in the contract award process as well as the failure of the government to attract investors.<\/p>\n

The former Vice President said that for such a deal to succeed at all, the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) and a credible technical partner like Standard and Poor\u2019s must be part of the process.<\/p>\n

Atiku added, \u201cFormer President Olusegun Obasanjo revealed recently that even Shell, one of the world\u2019s wealthiest oil companies, rejected the offer to operate Nigeria\u2019s refineries. This is because the NNPCL has, for years, been a cesspool of endemic corruption.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why over $20bn 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?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Atiku questioned the feasibility of the NNPC\u2019s latest plan even as he pointed out that such arrangements in the past had not been profitable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThe manage and operate approach has not always worked. The Manitoba Hydro International, which was handed the Transmission Company of Nigeria led to nowhere. Similarly, Global Steel Limited, which was handed the Ajaokuta Steel Company, was not able to make the facility profitable.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe contract was questionably revoked by the Umaru Musa Yar\u2019Adua administration, and Nigeria ended up paying Global Steel a compensation of nearly $500m while Ajaokuta remains comatose 17 years later.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Waziri Adamawa advised the NNPCL not to make the contract process opaque like it did with OVH last year, which was not only dubious but has still failed to boost the NNPCL\u2019s petrol sufficiency as evidenced by the months long fuel scarcity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarely 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.