Atiku restates call for NNPC privatisation, says FG should not manage oil sector

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has reiterated calls for the privatisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

TheCable understands that the federal government recently commercialised NNPC in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.

Over the years, Abubakar has been a strong advocate for the privatisation of the state-owned oil firm as well as other areas such as the power sector and refineries.

Speaking during an interview with News Central TV on Monday, the former vice-president said the privatisation of the NNPC would help optimise the oil company, adding that “it is not the duty of the government to start managing the oil and gas sector”. 

“You can compare the Nigeria LNG project which we are in partnership with the private sector and see the returns we get compared with the NNPC that is solely run by the government,” he said. 

“First of all, there’s red tape. There’s a lot of corruption there. Definitely, it is better to privatise. 

“Before the election, I advocated the privatisation of the NNPC. They accused me of wanting to give it to my friends, only for them now to turn around to say they are privatising.

“Of course, they have set up the structures, but they have not done the actual privatisation because they have not gone to the stock market. Up till now, all the shares are being held by the NNPC, and nobody has any shares there.

“So, in theory, they have announced that they are privatising, but that has not been implemented.”

In July, the NNPC transitioned to a limited liability company under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).