Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC started auctioning annual crude grades on live television on Tuesday and vowed to cut contract holders by a third as part of a drive to boost transparency at an institution hit by corruption.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who was elected in March on a campaign to “fix” Africa’s biggest economy, has vowed to end graft at NNPC where billions of dollars were not remitted to state coffers in the past.
An NNPC official told the auction that the current number of 43 contract holders would be reduced by at least a third so that companies could be sure they will get oil.
“This is not business as usual. This is going to be different,” he said. Previously, tenders were published in newspapers. (Reuters)
NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.