The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) disclosed on Thursday that it had reached the final stages of listing its shares on the Nigerian Exchange in compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The state-controlled petroleum company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, stated that preparations for the Initial Public Offering (IPO) were nearing completion.
He quoted the company’s Chief Finance and Investor Relations Officer, Olugbenga Oluwaniyi, as confirming that NNPCL is currently engaging with potential investors through an initiative dubbed the “NNPC Ltd. IPO Beauty Parade” to assess potential partners and ensure compliance with capital market regulations.
According to Oluwaniyi, key partnership areas of focus in the discussions include Investor Relations, IPO Readiness Advisors, and Investment Bank Partners.
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He stated that firms with the most competitive offers would be selected to support NNPCL’s transition into a publicly quoted company on the local bourse.
It would be recalled that the company had made attempts in the past to list its shares on the Nigerian Exchange but could not due to several factors, including the board and management’s inability to meet the requirements set for stock listing on the local bourse by the supervisory authorities.
Even now, industry analysts remain skeptical about the listing, raising concerns about transparency and whether the process will genuinely open up NNPCL to public ownership or serve as a mechanism for politically connected individuals to consolidate control.
While the Petroleum Industry Act mandates the listing in line with the Company and Allied Matters Act 1990, the analysts have continued to express concern over whether the listing of the shares will lead to improved corporate governance or continue the pattern of opacity associated with the NNPCL’s operations and financial statements.
