NNPC wins global award for oil, gas reforms
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has won an award as the overall best company in oil and gas reforms at the Open Government Partnership Global Awards, which was held in Seoul, South Korea.
NNPC bested other contenders from Africa and the Middle East that were implementing a Beneficial Ownership registry to end anonymous companies in their respective countries.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning congratulated Nigeria on the award and noted that establishing a beneficial ownership register had helped Nigeria “track, reduce and arrest corrupt practices that are undertaken either by companies or beneficial owners of companies.”
Commenting on the feat, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, expressed delight that the international community was beginning to assess Nigeria’s efforts at fighting corruption and deepening its democracy.
He described the award as impressive and encouraging, considering the political will and enormous resources the government had deployed to reposition the extractive industry to benefit all Nigerians.
Obiageli Onuorah, Deputy Director/Head Communications & Advocacy, NEITI in a statement said that a lot of factors were considered before Nigeria was picked for the award.
Onuorah said the summit considered the government’s overall commitment to reforms in the oil, gas, and mining sectors, as well as, the support given to NEITI to establish a beneficial ownership register of companies operating in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
Other issues that weigh in Nigeria’s favour include the broader industry reforms chief among which are the beneficial ownership disclosure by the CAC through the amendment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the recent Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a partnership of 78 countries, 76 local governments, civil society organizations, which altogether represents more than two billion people.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.