President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly dispatched the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to the Senate, which will see the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) privatised.
The new bill, according to Reuters, would also abolish key industry regulators to pave the way for new bodies and modify deepwater royalties, which in 2019 were altered.
The bill will, however, have to scale the hurdle of legislative approval and be signed off, while also receiving the same treatment from the House of Representatives before it becomes law.
The planned ownership shift will see the NNPC, whose reputation has been imperilled by allegations of corruption and opacity of operations due to non-release of its audited financials for years until this June, transform to a limited liability corporation into which its assets will be transferred after which government will pay for shares in the company, which will run as a commercial entity without access to state funds.
