NNPC Limited's push for an initial public offering on global exchanges, including in New York and London, has received backing from the Peoples Wellbeing Association (PWA). The advocacy group praised Managing Director Engr Bashir Bayo Ojulari for driving reforms aimed at transforming the state-owned oil company into a transparent, financially sustainable entity. In a statement issued Friday in Abuja, PWA's Head of Communication Unit, Comrade Abba Abubakar, credited Ojulari with rebuilding investor confidence through strategic restructuring and a focus on Nigeria's gas reserves. He cited the $20 billion Bonga Southwest deepwater project as evidence of renewed international interest. Abubakar highlighted operational integration, cost efficiency, and talent acquisition from international oil firms as key elements of the reform agenda. He described Ojulari's approach as deliberate, not rushed, with the IPO serving as a milestone rather than the sole objective. The PWA official noted that transparency and world-class project delivery are now central to NNPC Ltd's restructuring under Ojulari's leadership. Past governance issues and regulatory disputes had previously deterred foreign investment, but recent moves are reversing that trend.
Praising a sitting NNPC boss while calling his reforms transformative is easy when the $20 billion Bonga Southwest project finally moves after years of stagnation. Ojulari isn't inventing new models—he's fixing what collapsed under past mismanagement. For Nigerians, this means the oil company might stop being a black box of debt and start acting like a business. But until the books are truly open, confidence remains a promise, not a result.
