President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the Board of the newly incorporated Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
Recall that Buhari had constituted the board in September 2021 but shortly before it was to be inaugurated, he suspended the exercise indefinitely.
The President, who finally inaugurated the board on Friday at the State House in Abuja, urged them to ensure strict compliance with Corporate Governance principles that place a premium on doing business with the highest ethical standards, integrity, and transparency.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement, titled, ‘President Buhari demands transparency, accountability from new NNPC board’.
He reminded the members that they came on board as a result of the reforms put forward by the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, which seeks to reposition the Nigerian petroleum industry to a commercially viable and competitive industry in line with global business dynamics and best practices.
Buhari said, ”The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is mandated to focus on profitability and continuous value creation beyond the simple fulfilment of legal and regulatory requirements.
”NNPC Limited is expected to operate at par with its industry peers across the world while acting as Enabler Company that will foster the development of other sectors of our Economy.
”The inauguration of this Board is a major step in the ongoing transition to a more viable petroleum industry that will attract investment to support our economic growth and generate employment to millions of our people.”
The President, therefore, directed that there should be full alignment and synergy between NNPC Limited, the Upstream Regulatory Commission and the Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority in compliance with the provisions of the law in all respects to deliver the onerous reforms envisaged for the energy industry.
The new Board is chaired by Margery Okadigbo.
