Atiku’s call for NNPCL’s listing on NGX belated, unoriginal – TMV
The Tinubu Media Volunteers (TVM)have dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s suggestion to list the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), describing it as belated and unoriginal.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Chukwudi Enekwechi, and Secretary, Sunday Shedrach Gyungoun, the group criticized Atiku’s call as repetitive and irrelevant, noting that the process has already been in motion.
“The Tinubu Media Volunteers have read with total disappointment the empty call by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the ‘immediate listing of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) on the stock exchange,’ stating that his call offers nothing new, fresh, or novel.”
The group emphasized that Atiku’s intervention is not only belated but also redundant, as the NNPCL has been planning its listing since 2023. They pointed out that the NNPCL had already made presentations at a Non-Deal Roadshow at the NGX in London nearly a year ago to that effect.
“Only a few months ago, in March this year, the NNPCL team was in Houston, Texas, for the CERAWEEK conference, where it reaffirmed to global energy leaders that the planned listing on the stock market was on course.”
The Tinubu Media Volunteers also highlighted that it is widely known that 20% of NNPCL’s shareholding will eventually be offered to the Nigerian public in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“Furthermore, since its incorporation as a limited liability company, NNPCL has been operating as a full-fledged business entity. It has been issuing yearly financial statements, and transparency has become the norm rather than the exception in its operations.”
The group also noted that the law allows for the listing on the stock market to occur within three years of the company’s incorporation due to the process involved, meaning that NNPCL is still on track.
The Tinubu Media Volunteers urged former Vice President Abubakar to avoid making repetitive statements that do not contribute to public discourse.
“As a former Vice President, we expect him to bring well-informed opinions and statements to the public space that will elevate the exalted office he once occupied, even if he is engaging in politics.”
The group further described Atiku’s actions as a continuation of his recent attempts to criticize President Bola Tinubu but advised him to act as a responsible elder statesman as he approaches his eighties.
“Perhaps we also need to remind Atiku Abubakar that the NNPCL, under the leadership of Mele Kyari, formally applied to be a member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange three years ago, and it is an ongoing process that will eventually come to fruition.”
“We therefore consider the call for the immediate listing of NNPCL on the stock exchange as needless and unnecessary,” the statement concluded.
