President Muhammadu Buhari during a four-day visit to the United States hinted at what the future of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation will be.
In an interview with journalists in Washington DC, Buhari said the NNPC will be divided into two successor entities under his administration.
“I am reforming the oil and gas sector, breaking up the NNPC into two parts – the first willbecome an independent regulator for the sector, while the second will act as an investment vehicle for the country,” Buhari said.
Buhari also said there would be a new bid round for oil blocks in the country, adding that he favours transparent auction process.
“I will also end political control of the awarding of drilling and exploration rights by introducing a system of independent, transparent auctioning for licences,” the President said.
Buhari insisted that his administration will rather than continue to depend on oil, Buhari said Nigeria must become a manufacturing giant.
“I will not be satisfied until the label ‘Made in Nigeria’ is as common globally, as the label ‘Made in China,’” he added.