NNPC Pledges Deeper Transparency to Drive $60bn Oil, Gas Investment
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to global best practices in transparency and accountability, pledging to work closely with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in advancing reforms in the sector.
Ojulari made the pledge in Abuja on Thursday during a courtesy visit by NEITI’s Executive Secretary, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, according to a statement released by the NNPC on Friday.
“In terms of full compliance with NEITI principles and global EITI standards, you have my full commitment. We will look to your guidance as we deepen this. We are already doing a lot of internal transformation to deepen transparency in our operational reporting and performance reviews,” Ojulari said.
He noted that the company had resumed the publication of monthly financial and operational reports and strengthened internal reporting mechanisms to enhance accountability.
On the forthcoming NEITI 2024 Oil and Gas Audit, Ojulari assured that NNPC was ready to provide comprehensive data for the 2024 and 2025 reviews, while leveraging technology to improve efficiency and timeliness.
The GCEO added that fulfilling President Bola Tinubu’s directive to ramp up oil and gas production and expand refining capacity would require attracting at least $60bn in new investments, a target he said could only be achieved through investor confidence and strengthened partnerships with institutions like NEITI.
Dr Orji, in his remarks, said the new NNPC leadership had assumed office at a “defining moment for the extractive sector, when reforms, renewed investor confidence, and expanded indigenous participation were reshaping Nigeria’s oil and gas landscape.”
He urged the company to stand as a model of “transparency, accountability, efficiency, and civic engagement,” describing these values as critical to restoring public trust and safeguarding NNPC as “Nigeria’s greatest national asset.”
Orji further commended Ojulari’s vision and assured that NEITI would continue to provide guidance and support, particularly in strengthening disclosures and corporate governance standards across Africa’s extractive industry.
Punch
