Atiku Says APC Administration Denigrated His Plans To Reform NNPC

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate under the aegis of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), has said that he was attacked by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2018 for suggesting that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) be reformed.

Atiku’s statement came on the heels of the commercialization of the petroleum sector by the APC-led administration.

President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja yesterday unveiled the new NNPC which would henceforth operate as a private company under the regulations of the government.

In his speech at the event, the President noted that the new NNPC would compete favourably with its peers globally and be unhinged from the traditional government-owned organisations’ regulatory inhibitions.

Reacting to the development on Wednesday via Twitter, Atiku commended the decision, noting that he is happy that the same government that once attacked him has taken a tentative step along the lines of the suggestions that he had made. 

He, however, hinted that more steps needed to be taken in order to make it more profitable. He promised to complete the transition process of turning the NNPC into a genuinely world-class company in the mould of NLNG, Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Petrobras of Brazil, where Nigerians and institutions will invest if he gets the mandate to serve in 2023.

I had in 2018 made public my plans to reform the NNPC to make it more profitable, transparent and efficient. The APC-led government denigrated me for my patriotic vision.

— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) July 20, 2022

I hope I'll have the opportunity to complete the process of turning the NNPC into a genuinely world-class company in the mould of NLNG, Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Petrobras of Brazil, where Nigerians and institutions will invest in. -AA

— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) July 20, 2022