The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) have hailed the unveiling of the new Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd.
The marketers also tasked the NNPC Ltd to be competitive and efficient in its operations going forward in order to achieve the aim of the transition and for the benefit of the nation.
Mr Olumide Adeosun, Chairman, MOMAN and Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, President, IPMAN, made this known in separate on Tuesday in Lagos.
The new NNPC was officially unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Tuesday as a commercial venture.
The transition is in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, and has transformed the NNPC from a corporation into a limited liability company, incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).
Adeosun commended Buhari, Chief Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources and Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, NNPC Ltd., for their vision to transform the company.
He said: “The direction that they have taken is certainly one that has proven to be workable for other national oil companies and definitely a step in the right direction.
“Nigeria will benefit as a country consequently because it means that efficiency will now be one of their drivers rather than politics.
“It means that they will have a preference and deference to a free market rather than monopoly.
“I wish them a great success because they we are now competitors in the downstream sector.”
Similarly, Okoronkwo described the move as a good omen because it would open up both the downstream and upstream sectors of the industry.
“The company is now going to be making profit which ultimately will be a game changer for our economic situation.
“I believe that they will be here to do business like any other oil company and compete because competition will always bring out the best of any situation,” Okoronkwo said.
He said the transition of the NNPC and the coming on stream of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery would play significant roles in shaping Nigeria’s energy future.
Okoronkwo reiterated that IPMAN would continue to support policies initiated by the government to improve the oil and gas sector of the economy.
