BudgIT, a civic organisation that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement to facilitate societal change, has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for publishing the audited accounts of its subsidiaries and business divisions for the first time in the corporation’s history, alongside the launch of an OpenData feature for its website.

Having considered the transparency and financial viability of NNPC as instrumental to the corporation becoming a key driver of the nation’s economy, BudgIT, through the Extractives Consultative Forum and supported by the National Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), has, for the past four years, been engaging with key stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to push for the NNPC becoming more transparent in its operations, while assuming and maintaining the status of a commercially viable organisation.

BudgIT’s Extractive Department Project Officer, Adejoke Akinbode, said, ‘Launching an OpenData segment on its official website is a very commendable step by the NNPC. We encourage Nigerians to download the audit reports and other data put up by NNPC, study them, and ask questions’.

Also speaking concerning this development, BudgIT’s Principal Lead, Gabriel Okeowo, said, ‘The Federal Government needs to reform the NNPC to reverse the trend of the massive losses recorded by some of the NNPC subsidiaries annually. This audit report is a laudable step towards showing Nigerians the true picture of what is going on in NNPC’.

Source: Invest Advocate

Photo source: PA Anderson