The Executive Vice President, Gas, Power and New Energy, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye has assured that the listing of the national oil company will be ‘phenomenon’ and “successful” when they are quoted on the capital market.
He said this during a session on “Africa’s energy future access: investment and sustainability” held at the 2024 edition of CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, the United States.
The NNPC EVP told the gathering that the NNPCL has transformed into an integrated energy company, noting that what has changed is the focus on transparency and accountability.
He said over the last five years, the NNPCL under the leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari has been pushing the agenda of transparency and accountability performance and excellence.
He noted that transparency and accountability are vital now that the company is planning to list its shares on the floor of the stock exchange.
Ogunleye said, “The NNPC over five years now has been pushing this agenda which focuses on transparency and accountability performance and excellence. So, we are setting a very high bar and it’s a journey we are committed to.
“For us transparency and accountability is fundamental for our business and we are concentrating relationships with activist groups like the 90, you know, transparency organizations in Nigeria and outside the country.
“So, that’s very important. And the transparency, it also has a commercial component to it, because it then makes us attractive to partners. And it also helps us with attracting investment. So that’s fundamental.
“An IPO is in the horizon, but currently our focus is on making NNPCL IPO-ready. I’ve talked about, you know, transparency. I’ve talked about growing our business, and I’m convinced that when the call is made, the NNPCL IPO will be phenomenon and successful.”
He also said the current management of the NNPCL is using modern technology to drive the operation of the company, noting that this has created a whole lot of value to the company to compete globally.
“It’s been very fascinating that, you know, the current NNPC leadership is emphasizing science and technology. That’s what we need to lead, you know, local science and technology. And so that’s something that I find fascinating.
“So, it’s an exciting time. We are the biggest corporation in Africa, with the biggest resources, with the biggest market, and our mission is not just to be an African champion.
“We are relentlessly improving our processes and our commercial outcomes to be able to compete globally,” he added.
ENDS