NNPCL: Reform, Governance and the Hard Work of Transformation
Michael Kabi
Nigeria keeps talking about reforming its oil sector, but let us face it, the results are always disappointing. New laws, shiny agencies, big announcements; they come and go. Still, production slides, money disappears, investors look away, and nobody believes anything is really going to change. The recently constituted presidential petroleum reform & value optimisation taskforce must address these concerns. Our problem is not a lack of ideas. If anything, we are drowning in suggestions and draft laws. But we stop at paperwork. We do not tackle the gritty stuff: holding people to account, changing old habits, building a culture where things just work the way they should. Any government can announce new rules. Getting people to behave differently is the challenge. Things only shift when the incentives and the rules make people act differently.Take NNPC Limited. In theory, it is no longer a government monopoly. It is supposed to work like a true, globally competitive oil company. But honestly, look past the new logo and PR, and it runs like the same old state agency. Investors see right through this. They are not swayed by branding or big speeches; they pay attention to how things really work.Now, let us talk about what made a dent: that switch sending all oil and gas revenue directly into the Federation Account. By cutting out the side channels, the money started showing up, fast. Simple accountability worked. When people could track the cash, the numbers jumped. That is the power of basic transparency. But plugging leaks is not enough. That is just taking care of yesterday’s problems. If we want NNPC to be world-class, we need more. There is got to be a single, clear owner, a tough board ready to challenge management, and leadership confident enough to set and stick to real targets. Right now, NNPC answers to a confusing pile of government masters. Management is pulled in many directions, and when politics dwarfs common sense, nothing moves forward. No wonder serious investors keep their distance.We must be clear; government ownership is not the problem. Some of the world’s best oil companies are state-owned. What drives investors away is a system where politics muddies decisions and nobody is held to any standard. Governance is everything. If you fill a board with political allies, you get a company focused on pleasing powerful people, not delivering results. It might work for a few politicians, but investors hate it. So, what should happen? For starters, NNPC’s board needs true industry professionals, not just big names or political insiders. Give them real teeth, not just a seat at the table. The audit committee should work for the owners, not the boss. Open the books so everyone, from regulators to Wall Street, sees where the money goes. There is also a mess inside NNPC. It is nearly impossible to tell which parts of the company make money and which ones are just holes in the bucket. Subsidiaries do deals with each other, fudge numbers, and hide losses. Real discipline starts with real numbers. Every business line should prove its worth, or it is closed. Yes, that will hurt. But NNPC will come out stronger.
