A statement personally issued by Soneye on Saturday said his resignation was to allow him to focus on personal businesses.

“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you all for the unwavering support, professionalism, and genuine commitment you’ve shown in helping to shape and amplify the NNPC Ltd story over the past 20 months.

“Your role in building a vibrant and effective communications presence for our national energy company has been nothing short of invaluable.

“I wish to inform you that I have stepped aside from my role as Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd.

“This decision will allow me to devote more time to my family and attend to personal responsibilities that now require my closer presence.

“It has been a profound honour to serve both the Company and our country, and to contribute in my own way to the ongoing transformation of NNPC Ltd. I am deeply grateful for the trust reposed in me, the opportunities granted, and the incredible professionals both within and outside the organisation with whom I have worked.

“I remain a steadfast supporter and ambassador of NNPC Ltd wherever I go. I enjoin you, dear colleagues, to continue your robust, balanced, and constructive reportage in support of the Company’s noble mission and strategic role in Nigeria’s energy future,” Femi Soneye wrote.

This call was made by Dr. Jimson Olufuye, principal consultant at Kontemporary Konsulting Ltd and Chairman of the 2025 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa Forum on Internet Governance for Development.

The call was made during the forum held at the Welcome Centre Hotels, MM International Airport Road, Lagos, on Thursday, June 19.

The Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series, hosted by the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers (ICANN) certified At-Large Structure (ALS), DigitalSENSE Africa, under the Africa Regional At-Large Organization (AFRALO), is powered by ITREALMS Media.

The WSIS review aims to assess progress made since the summit’s initial outcomes in 2003 and 2005, focusing on key areas such as digital divides, internet governance, and sustainable development.

Olufuye also encouraged Nigeria’s ICT stakeholders to participate in the review process, sharing their experiences and insights to shape the country’s digital future.

By engaging in the WSIS review process, Olufuye who is member of the United Nations’ Multistakeholder Advisory Group, said, Nigeria’s ICT stakeholders could contribute to shaping the country’s digital landscape and ensuring that the benefits of technology are equitably distributed.

The stakeholders have also been urged to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership to drive technological development and economic growth.

The WSIS review process, he underscored, is expected to culminate in future high-level events, where world leaders and ICT stakeholders will gather to review progress and outline future directions.

This event will provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss key issues, such as digital divide, Internet Governance, cyber security among others.

In addition to fostering the Sustainable Development by leveraging digital technologies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He recalls that some countries have already conducted WSIS reviews, providing valuable lessons and insights for Nigeria.

In 2015, he recalled that there was  a WSIS+10 Review by the UN General Assembly to conduct a ten-year review of the WSIS outcomes, which reaffirmed the WSIS principles and called for a further review by the Assembly in 2025, hence countries like Nigeria should take the review seriously.

Olufuye further pointed out that by participating in the WSIS review process, Nigeria’s ICT stakeholders could help shape the country’s digital future and ensure that the benefits of technology are equitably distributed.

Welcoming participants earlier, the Lead Consulting Strategist, DigitalSENSE Africa and Group of ITREALMS Media group, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke noted that the 16th annual forum began since 2009, which has continued to rally Internet stakeholders to address challenges in Internet Governance, security, and socio-economic impact, focusing on students, youth, women, and community-based organizations.

Focus, this year, he said, was on the Global Digital Compact (GDC), a globally significant UN initiative that demands global effort and urged Nigeria to take lead in this transformation, at least from the African continent.

“The GDC calls us to commit to bridging digital divides, inclusive digital economy, open, safe, and secure digital space; international data governance and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to name a few,” he said.

Nweke also appreciated participation of esteemed speakers, including Dr. Jimson Olufuye, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, Mr. Gbenga Sesan and Mrs. Tinuade Oguntuyi, among others.

NDSF 2025, he said, was hosted in partnership with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) via the African At-Large Regional Organisation (AFRALO), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Internet Society Nigeria chapter, NLNG, NNPCL, Digital Realty, and Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), among others.

The $300 million tertiary medical facility, developed by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with King’s College Hospital London, welcomed His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as guest of honour, represented by His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima, vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Other high-ranking Government and private sector officials, who were present at the launch included the Minsters of Health, Finance, and Foreign Affairs, Nigeria Customs Services, Nigeria Immigration Services, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and Bank of Industry (BOI), among others.

Located in Abuja and designed to meet the highest global standards, AMCE Abuja offers world- class services across oncology, haematology, cardiology, and general medical services. 

More than a hospital, the facility represents a bold statement of Africa’s determination to reduce dependence on foreign health systems and reverse the estimated $6-10 billion Africans spend annually seeking treatment abroad.

The opening of AMCE Abuja comes at a critical time, as Africa seeks to strengthen its healthcare systems and reduce reliance on external providers. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of this reliance, with global supply shortages putting immense pressure on African nations. 

Similarly, past responses to health crises like Ebola have reinforced the urgent need for resilient, homegrown solutions. Decades after independence, millions of Africans continue to suffer from diseases like sickle cell and malaria, conditions that could be better managed with targeted local research and investment. 

Yet these illnesses often receive limited global attention or funding, leaving critical treatment gaps. AMCE Abuja represents a bold step forward, bringing world-class care to the continent, centering African health priorities, and laying the groundwork for a healthier, more self-reliant future. 

In strategic partnership with Bank of Industry (BOI), and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), AMCE reflects what’s possible when African institutions unite with shared purpose.

“Today, we are not merely unveiling a building, we are making a bold, collective statement: we will no longer accept medical vulnerability as destiny. The African Medical Centre of Excellence stands as proof that Africa is ready to compete with the best in global healthcare.

“I commend Afreximbank and its visionary President, Professor Benedict Oramah, and salute the partnership with King’s College Hospital for turning this audacious dream into reality. This is what happens when African institutions confront African challenges with African solutions.

“Over the past two years, we have taken deliberate steps to transform Nigeria’s health sector— from unlocking the healthcare value chain through the Presidential Initiative (PVAC), to expanding pharmaceutical production, regulatory systems, and diagnostic access, and securing over $2.2 billion in new investments through the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Initiative.

“But excellence must be sustained. That’s why we’re investing in the roads, power, and connectivity that enable great institutions to thrive. With the largest stem cell lab in West Africa and plans for a medical school, this Centre is more than a hospital, it is a place to heal the sick, and to train the future,” H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, represented by H.E. Senator Kashim Shettima, vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Commenting on the momentous achievement, Prof. Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of the Board of Directors of both Afreximbank and AMCE, thanked the Federal Government of Nigeria for providing the land on which the AMCE stands, adding: 

“In 2013, I had my own close call when I became seriously ill and was evacuated to King’s College Hospital in London, where a frantic battle to save my life ensued. Being here today is a testament to the power of cutting-edge medical research, clinical knowledge, and a solid healthcare ecosystem.

“The event we mark today is proof that society is better off saving lives than burying its dead, and that it is a living person who can contribute to development and social transformation. 

“This experience led me to conclude that one of the major contributions I could make to Africa was to help Afreximbank deliver on its health and medical strategy in every way possible.

“Our vision for the African Medical Centre of Excellence is not just to provide top-notch healthcare but to serve as a catalyst for the transformation of the African health sector, making a bold statement to the world that Africa is finally taking its destiny into its own hands in healthcare sovereignty and global standards.”

President Oramah also announced the launch of the Africa Life Sciences Foundation, to act as the vehicle for mobilising appropriate risk capital to drive research efforts and called on African and non-African governments, banks, high net worth individuals, and corporate organisations to join the Bank in investing in the hospital through this platform.

Brian Deaver, chief executive officer of AMCE, highlighted the facility’s comprehensive approach: “Today, we don’t just open a hospital, we launch a healthcare revolution for Africa. AMCE represents a paradigm shift in how specialised medical care is delivered on the continent.

“Our integrated model encompasses early diagnosis, advanced treatment, and long-term disease management, creating a seamless continuum of care that improves patient outcomes and health experiences.”

He added: “Our mission extends beyond treatment to include world-class medical education, groundbreaking research, and continuous innovation. By combining international expertise with local talent development, AMCE will build sustainable healthcare capacity that serves generations to come.”

AMCE’s opening signals a new era for Africa, one in which self-reliance replaces dependency, and world-class care is no longer the privilege of a few but the standard for many. 

By anchoring healthcare delivery, talent development, and innovation on the continent, AMCE is not just stemming the outflow of medical dollars, but redefining Africa’s place in the global health ecosystem.

Through its clinical partnerships with King’s College Hospital, London and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, AMCE will be home to advance research, education, and medical excellence by fostering continuous knowledge exchange. 

In its next phase, AMCE will expand to include a second 350-bed hospital, medical and nursing schools, a medical sciences foundation, research centres, and residential facilities. Together, this integrated ecosystem will position Nigeria as a leading hub for specialist healthcare, medical training, and clinical research on the continent.

Professor Clive Kay, chief executive officer of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said, “We are proud to partner with Afreximbank on this important initiative. The African Medical Centre of Excellence represents a positive step forward, and by bringing together world-class clinical standards, training, and research, we aim to share our expertise and support the development of a sustainable model of care that responds directly to the needs of African patients”.

The AMCE currently boasts 170 beds, with plans to expand this to 500 beds upon completion. It features the largest stem cell laboratory in the region, 15 post-stem cell isolation rooms in West Africa, alongside five theatres and three catheterisation laboratories. 

It also features a 20-bed intensive care unit, six critical care unit beds and 20 chemotherapy chairs with a compounding pharmacy among others. Some of the specialised equipment in Nigeria and the region are exclusively hosted by AMCE Abuja. 

They include an 18MeV cyclotron, 3 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 256 slices computed tomography, brachytherapy machine with iridium source, four biosafety cabinets and 128 slices computed tomography machines, among other amenities.

Now open, AMCE Abuja welcomes patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and partners to join its mission of delivering world-class healthcare, fostering innovation, and building a healthier, more self-reliant Africa.

Bayo Ba​shir Ojulari is a seasoned Nigerian engineer with expertise in petroleum, process, and production engineering.

Before his new appointment, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.

His Renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.

He began his career as the first Nigerian process engineer at Elf Aquitaine before joining Shell Petroleum Development Company in 1991.

A native of Kwara State, Ojulari served as the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) from 2015 to 2021.

Bayo Ba​shir Ojulari is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, (Mechanical Engineering 1985 – 1989).

A fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, he was a member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigeria Council) from 1998 to 1999.

Throughout his career, he has held managerial roles in Europe and the Middle East, specializing in petroleum engineering, process engineering, production engineering, and health and safety.

In November 2015, Ojulari was appointed Managing Director of SNEPCo and General Manager, Deepwater.

Bayo Ba​shir Ojulari also served on the board of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), overseeing onshore and offshore petroleum engineering, technical integration of development, well engineering, and project engineering.

Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.

The decision included the removal of Mele Kyari as the group chief executive officer (GCEO), and Pius Akinyelure, as Board chairman, of the NNPCL respectively.

Consequently, the President appointed Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group CEO of NNPCL, while Ahmadu Musa Kida takes over as the non-executive chairman of the reconstituted 11-man Board of the oil company.

According to a release issued in the early hours of Wednesday morning by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the President also removed all other board members appointed with Akinyelure and Kyari in November 2023.

The new 11-man board has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.

Also, Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.

Six board members, non-executive directors, representing the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu (North West), Yusuf Usman (Nort- East), and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG) represents North Central zone.

President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South-West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South-East.

Permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Lydia Shehu Jafiya, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

All the appointments are effective Wednesday, April 2.

President Tinubu, while invoking the powers granted under Section 59, subsection 2 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, emphasised that the board’s restructuring was crucial for enhancing operational efficiency, restoring investor confidence, boosting local content, driving economic growth, and advancing gas commercialisation and diversification.

President Tinubu also handed out an immediate action plan to the new board: to conduct a strategic portfolio review of NNPC-operated and Joint Venture Assets to ensure alignment with value maximisation objectives.

Since 2023, the Tinubu administration has implemented oil sector reforms to attract investment. Last year, NNPC reported $17 billion in new investments within the sector. The administration now envisions increasing the investment to $30 billion by 2027 and $60 billion by 2030.

The Tinubu administration targets raising oil production to two million barrels daily by 2027 and three million daily by 2030.

Concurrently, the government wants gas production jacked to 8 billion cubic feet daily by 2027 and 10 billion cubic feet by 2030.

Furthermore, President Tinubu expected the new board to elevate NNPC’s share of crude oil refining output to 200,000 barrels by 2027 and reach 500,000 by 2030.

The new board chairman, Ahmadu Musa Kida, is from Borno State. He is an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he received a degree in civil engineering in 1984.

He also obtained a postgraduate diploma in petroleum engineering from the Institut Francaise du Petrole (IFP) in Paris.

He started his career in the oil industry at Elf Petroleum Nigeria and later joined Total Exploration and Production as a trainee engineer in 1985. Musa became Total Nigeria’s Deputy Managing Director of Deep Water Services in 2015. Last year, he became an Independent Non-Executive Director at Pan Ocean-Newcross Group.

Apart from his oil industry career, Ahmadu Musa Kida is a former basketballer and the president of the Nigerian Basketball Federation(NBBF) board.

Who is Bashir Bayo Ojulari?

Ojulari, the new NNPC Limited Group CEO, hails from Kwara State. Until his new appointment, He was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Renaissance Africa Energy Company.

His Renaissance recently led a consortium of indigenous energy firms in the landmark acquisition of the entire equity holding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), worth $2.4 billion.

Like Kida, Ojulari is also an alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

He worked for Elf Aquitaine as the first Nigerian process engineer to begin a stellar career in the oil sector. From Elf, he joined Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd in 1991 as an associate production technologist.

Apart from working in Nigeria, he worked in Europe and the Middle East in different capacities as a petroleum process and production engineer, strategic planner, field developer, and asset manager.

In 2015, he became the managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO).

During his career, he was chairman and member of the board of trustees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE Nigeria Council) and a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

President Tinubu thanked the old board members for their dedicated service to NNPC Limited, particularly their efforts in rehabilitating the old Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which enabled them to resume petroleum product production after prolonged shutdowns. He wished them well in their future endeavours.

The increase in the price of petrol, which came on Wednesday, was noticed at the pumps at all NNPCL depots in Lagos State.

The new development is a 12.7 percent or N113 increase from the initial price.

The increase in the price of petrol, which came on Wednesday, was noticed at the pumps at all NNPCL depots in Lagos State.

Recall that the national oil company had on September 3, 2024 raised the price of petrol from N568, which was the lowest in Lagos, and N617 in some other parts of the country, to a minimum of N855, obtainable in Lagos.

In a statement titled ‘Clarification on NNPCL Refinery Operations’, Lokpobiri said:

“My attention has been drawn to statements made by Engr. Kamoru Busari, Director of Upstream in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, who represented me at a recent conference in Lagos. I wish to categorically state that the claim that I directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to stop running its own refineries and focus solely on equity participation in other refineries is false.

“This does not represent my position as Minister overseeing the oil sector, nor does it reflect the stance of the Federal Government.

“It is important to clarify that NNPCL is a company governed under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), with a functional board and management.

“The Ministry of Petroleum Resources does not control or run NNPCL, as it operates independently like any corporate entity.

“The oil and gas sector is fully deregulated, and the Nigerian government remains committed to promoting in-country refining.

“We encourage companies, including NNPCL, to operate independently, following global best practices. While we provide strategic guidance, we do not interfere directly in the operations of these companies.

“I reaffirm our commitment to supporting the growth and independence of NNPCL, ensuring that its operations are in line with international standards for efficiency and transparency and profitability”.

Reports on the newly increased price come after NNPCL said it owed its suppliers more than $6bn in debt.

Our investigations in Abuja and Lagos confirmed that the price was adjusted on Tuesday.

While the report from Abuja said the price was jerked up to ₦897 per litre, our finding in Lagos shows that NNPCL station at Awolowo Road in Lagos, increased the price to ₦855 per litre.

Other marketers have since jerked up prices too following NNPCL’s price adjustment, with over 30 per cent increments reported, to around ₦897 per litre.

Reports earlier revealed a hike in the ex-depot price of the product to ₦754 per litre.

Speculations revealed the price was reviewed upward to reflect the global price and to reduce the debt burden on NNPCL.

The NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye denied any adjustments in prices, stressing that the old price remains.

Earlier the Federal Government also denied reports that it directed NNPCL to peg fuel prices at ₦1,000.

“The federal government is compelled to address the outright falsehoods currently being circulated on social media, which claim that the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to inflate petroleum prices above the approved pump price,” said a Tuesday statement by Nnemaka Okafor, special adviser, media and communication, to the Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri.

The citizens wondered why the government has failed to live up to the promise to make life easier for them.

The reactions are due to the confirmation by the Petroleum Company Limited that recent reports in national newspapers regarding the company’s significant debt of $6 billion to petrol suppliers.

“This financial strain, according to a statement by Olufemi Soneye, the chief corporate communications officer, NNPC Ltd, at the weekend, has placed considerable pressure on the Company and poses a threat to the sustainability of fuel supply.

“In line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC Ltd remains dedicated to its role as the supplier of last resort, ensuring national energy security.

“We are actively collaborating with relevant government agencies and other stakeholders to maintain a consistent supply of petroleum products nationwide”.

Reacting to the NNPCL’s statement, an X user with the handle @therealspookie tweeted:

“Please help me ask them why they’re taking over all the fuel stations in Lagos, rebranding them NNPC and then locking them up? Fuel stations I usually rely on have all been taken over by NNPC and they never ever sell fuel. They claim to sell at 585 but they’re never open”.

For @habiblinz “Supply fuel crude/raw materials overseas Right? For a country as big as Nigeria with all the crude oil fuel is one of the biggest challenges we face”.

Recall that on August 19^, 2024, the NNPC Limited released its 2023 Audited Financial Statement (AFS) declaring a net profit of N3.297 trillion at the close of the financial year which ended in December 2023, an increase of over N700billion (28%) when compared to the 2022 profit of N2.548trillion.

In a world press conference held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, Mr. Umar Ajiya the chief financial officer of the Company, said the release of the AFS is a testament to the Company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

To this end, Mahdi Shehu @shehu_mahdi asked “Dear @nnpclimited, Please, how is it possible that has at Aug 19, you declared a profit of 3.3trn and you are now broke, it’s not even up to a month?

“What’s really happening , should we start trending Justice for NNPCL?”

In the editorial entitled: “NNPCL: Liability or Asset to Nigerians?”, the newspaper set out to paint the picture of NNPC Ltd that is a liability to Nigeria instead of an asset that it should be.

It chronicled a litany of issues which in its estimation have made the company to lose its place as an asset to the nation.

As to be expected, all the issues it raised were either outright lies or unfair misrepresentation of facts. Let’s take a look at them one by one.

According to the newspaper, NNPC Ltd.’s status as an asset is undercut by the opacity of its operations and corruption.

The truth, however, is that this is a regurgitation of age-long allegations that have since been overtaken by the emergence of Mr. Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company and the transition of the old NNPC as a corporation into a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act.

One of the key thrusts of the Kyari-led management since 2019 has been its focus on transparency and accountability.

This was what gave rise to the Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE) management philosophy under which the company’s audited financial statements began to be published annually since 2019.

In fact, the same BusinessDay newspaper that is so bent on hanging the tag of opacity on the company actually honoured Kyari with its “Energy Executive of the Year” award in 2021 for turning the fortunes of the company around and entrenching the culture of transparency in the company.

But out of sheer mischief, the newspaper has forgotten so soon and chosen to borrow some ignoble tricks from Josef Goebbel’s playbook that of repeating the lies of opacity and corruption against the NNPC Ltd frequently with the hope of sustaining the propaganda just so well the public would believe the lies to be the truth.

The next point made in the editorial is that of mismanagement of resources and inefficiency. In its bid to present a semblance of balance, the newspaper acknowledged the role of government interference in the company.

A bulk of the legacy problems, such as the age-long lack of maintenance of the refineries, is traceable to government interference.

Any old refinery staff member of the NNPC Ltd will tell you that NNPC engineers used to carry out the turn-around maintenance of the refineries until past governments started dabbling in to influence contracts for their cronies.

However, with the PIA, all that is behind as the NNPC Ltd now operates as a limited liability company under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). As is presently constituted, the company is owned by the government through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum.

But the PIA envisages that in no distant time, the company will be listed on the stock exchange with shares owned by Nigerians in their individual capacities.

But prior to that time, the management of the company under Kyari has instituted a management system encapsulated in the Performance Excellence element of the TAPE philosophy.

Under this, the company has made great strides in moving from a position of loss in 2019 to consistent profitability.

This is in spite of the fact that the company contends with monstrous odds in the form of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism.

The fact is: companies like Saudi Aramco, with which the newspaper tried to benchmark the NNPC Ltd, do not contend with such odds that have very practical implications for crude oil production.

The newspaper is only being disingenuous in blaming the nation’s suboptimal crude oil production on inefficiency in the NNPC Ltd when it is common knowledge that the security challenges are not of the company’s making. But even at that, the NNPC Ltd has not fared badly in managing the bad situation to get the results that it has been posting in the past few years.

The truth is that the current reality of the NNPC Ltd, in terms of management and performance, does not reflect the picture of mismanagement and inefficiency that the BusinessDay tried to paint in its editorial.

The question that arises from all this, which the BusinessDay must answer, is: do companies that have issues with mismanagement of resources and inefficiency make profits as the NNPC Ltd has consistently done in the past three years?

The other issue that has stymied the NNPC Ltd from being an asset to the nation, according to the BusinessDay, is its monopolistic control of the petroleum sector. Supporting its position, the newspapers states: “The corporation’s dominant position as the sole importer of petrol and the primary issuer of import licenses for diesel creates market distortions”.

This allegation, coming from a business newspaper like the BusinessDay, is very curious. For the newspaper to state that NNPC Ltd is the “primary issuer of import licenses for diesel” shows how little it knows about the oil and gas industry.

It only means that the BusinessDay either does not know the difference between an industry regulator and an operator or it just wants to take its mischief to a ridiculous level, hoping that the public would swallow its lies hook, line, and sinker.

For the avoidance of doubt, NNPC Ltd does not issue import licenses for diesel or any petroleum product for that matter.

This is because, NNPC Ltd, as provided in Section 64 of the PIA, is an operator just like any other company that operates in the oil and gas sector, and not a regulator.

The PIA makes provision for the establishment of two regulatory agencies in the sector. They are the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). The newspaper actually acknowledged these two regulatory agencies in the editorial.

But how it came by the idea that the NNPC Ltd issues import licenses to marketers, a clear regulatory function, is really difficult to understand. This, however, goes to show that the newspaper and its editors know very little about the subject matter of their editorial.

On the allegation that NNPC Ltd runs a monopoly in the importation of petrol, here are the facts that the BusinessDay failed to acknowledge in its editorial. When the downstream sector was deregulated on 29th May, 2023, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration that fuel subsidy was gone, every petroleum marketer was automatically empowered to import the product and sell at whatever price(s) they chose.

NNPC Ltd only stepped in to close the gap as a supplier of last resort, a role assigned to it by the framers of the PIA to guarantee energy security for the nation.

NNPC Ltd did not muscle any marketer out of petrol importation to become a monopoly. Besides, it does not look like the company is making any profit from being the sole importer of petrol which is usually the major objective of monopolists.

In fact, by playing this role of sole importer of petrol at this time when others are not able to import the product, NNPC Ltd has proved to be a huge asset to the nation- much more of an asset than the BusinessDay would want Nigerians and the world to believe!

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Soneye, is the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd.