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The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has raised concerns over the proposed ownership structure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as prescribed in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The governors, who said they support the unbundling and commercialisation of the NNPC, faulted the part of the legislation that places its ownership on the federal government.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of its 35th teleconference meeting on Wednesday, and signed by the chairman of the forum, Kayode Fayemi.
The PIB, recently passed by the National Assembly, seeks to create the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, a corporate entity incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
It provides that the ownership of all shares in the incorporated NNPC shall be vested with the government, and the Ministries of Finance and Petroleum shall hold the shares on behalf of the government. The shares are not transferable.
The NGF recommended that given that the corporation is owned by the three tiers of government, the new incorporated entity (NNPC Limited) should be owned by a vehicle that “holds the interest of the three tiers of government” –the institution that is currently positioned to carry out this mandate is the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).