Business
Nigeria to incorporate NNPC, appoints board – President says
The move would turn the state-owned oil company into a private firm, and allow it to sell shares in the future.
Reuters | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said on Sunday he had appointed a board for state-oil firm – the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – and directed that it should be incorporated within 6 months, a move that could allow it to sell shares in the future.
Buhari, who doubles as petroleum minister, signed an oil bill into law last month that has been in the works for nearly two decades, aiming to overhaul the sector and turn the state-owned oil company into a private firm.
The new oil law requires NNPC to be incorporated within 6 months, Buhari said in a statement, appointing Ifeanyi Ararume as NNPC chairman and its current Chief Executive Mele Kyari to lead the firm.
Kyari has said NNPC could consider an initial public offering (IPO) within 3 years. The incorporation could pave the way for NNPC to sell shares.
Buhari said last month that NNPC made its first profit in 44 years in 2020.