The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, has expressed confidence in the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd., under the Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari. He said the management has the capacity to deliver on ongoing reforms in the company and to set new benchmarks for corporate governance across Africa’s extractive industry.
Dr. Orji made this known during a courtesy call on the NNPC Management at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Thursday. He commended the vision of the new NNPC leadership, explaining that their assumption into office comes at a defining moment for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. According to him, reforms, renewed investor confidence, and expanded indigenous participation are reshaping the country’s extractive sector.
He encouraged NNPC Ltd. to position itself as a model of transparency, accountability, efficiency, and civic engagement, adding that these values remain vital for restoring public trust and safeguarding the company as Nigeria’s most valuable national asset.
Responding, the GCEO, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, assured that NNPC Ltd. will continue its collaboration with NEITI in advancing openness and corporate governance in line with global transparency and accountability standards.
He emphasized that the company has already reinstated the publication of monthly financial and operational reports and has strengthened internal reporting systems to ensure improved accountability.
“In terms of full compliance to 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 added that the NNPC Ltd. would rely on NEITI’s global experience to provide feedback on performance reviews. On the forthcoming NEITI 2024 Oil and Gas Audit, Ojulari said the company is fully prepared to provide comprehensive data for both the 2024 and 2025 audits, while leveraging technology to guarantee efficiency and timeliness.
Ojulari also re-stated the mandate of President Bola Tinubu to the new NNPC Ltd. management team to ramp up oil and gas production and expand refining capacity. He explained that achieving these goals will require attracting at least 60 billion dollars in new investments.
He stressed that this can only be achieved through sustained reforms, stronger investor confidence, and solid partnerships with industry operators, government agencies, and accountability institutions such as NEITI.