The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Friday said the complete assets and liabilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have been transferred to the state oil company, easing its means of doing business.
This development was held at the headquarters of the state oil firm at the final cutover to NNPC limited from being a corporation.
Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer NNPC, at the event said that the transfer of the assets has put the oil company in a comfortable situation to do business.
According to Kyari, the liabilities transferred to the NNPC Ltd by the corporation are far less than the assets, implying that the new entity would be starting its operations on a good standing.
“Today’s event means that all assets and liabilities of the Corporation (NNPC) have been transferred to the new NNPC Limited. The good thing is that the liabilities are far less than the assets. So, it is a very comfortable situation,” Kyari said in a short video on NNPC’s twitter page.
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“We returned this company from 43 years of loss to a profit of N287 billion in 2020. And in 2021, we moved the profit to N674 billion.
We believe we will do better in 2022, despite our challenges.”
On July 19, last year, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new NNPC, which enabled it to transition into a commercial entity, becoming NNPCL.
The official transitioning into a private entity means that the oil company would be regulated in line with the Companies and Allied Matters Act provisions.
Also, the transiting implied that the Federal Government had halted all forms of funding for projects and sundry purposes compared to what had been obtainable in the last 45 years of the NNPC.
The transformation of NNPCL into an entity that would be regulated in line with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) provisions is expected to provide a leeway for the commercial entity to be run as a private company without government interference.
This is in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), as Section 53(1) of law requires the minister of petroleum resources to set up structures for the incorporation of the NNPC Limited within six months of the enactment of the PIA in consultation with the minister of finance on the nominal shares of the company.
