You all know as well as I that NNPC is facing enormous challenges in a rapidly changing local and global business environment.

We have been challenged to deliver on a tough mandate by the Federal Government at precisely the time when funding for today’s business activities and growth initiatives is grossly inadequate. The recent problems the country has been through with deregulation of refined products pricing and the additional burden NNPC may have to shoulder is just one manifestation of the challenges of which I speak.

Our objectives and mandate going forward include:

• Achieving improved levels of international competitiveness and sustainable profitability by expanding participation in the oil and gas industry further and pursuing effective deregulation


• For the upstream sector, significantly growing Nigerian reserves and production capacity


• Optimally monetizing Nigeria’s considerable gas assets


• Improving Nigerian capacity and content

Transitioning from an oil company to an integrated oil and gas company When you view this mandate against our internal challenges and environment, it becomes clear that an immediate and comprehensive transformation of NNPC is imperative. Many of our business processes are still manual and archaic; NNPC’s roles are not completely clear and approval limits/ controls are cumbersome and actually slow down the pace of work. On the people dimension, I will like to see a stronger performance in accountability. In addition, there has been a serious deterioration in capability and capacity of our people and hence their productivity.

When you consider our internal situation against the challenges and mandate, you see the enormity and complexity of the challenge we have to under take and the imperative for this to happen within a fairly aggressive timeframe. And also for these reasons we would need help to drive this change process. Accordingly, the Management and Board of NNPC has contracted two competent and reputable organizations, Accenture and Shell Global Solutions, to help us with this transformation initiative. We have worked with these two companies to define an approach that we believe will deliver the transformational change in the shortest possible time and in the least disruptive manner.

The Group Executive Management and I are fully committed to and excited about the journey upon which we are about to embark in transforming NNPC. We believe we can deliver on and even surpass our mandate and objective, and truly become a world class oil and gas company. Already we have noted the enthusiastic reception to management’s decision to embark on this change journey and this has further reinforced our conviction that it is not only the right thing but also the right time. I would like to personally acknowledge the over 200 staff who have volunteered to be involved full-time in the project. I am also encouraged by the comments some of you have made to me that NNPC cannot continue doing business as it has done in the past; things have to change.

I am using this memo to ask you all to accord the project your highest level of co-operation and support, and give the project team every help and facilitation to make their work successful. Please make time for them when they ask to meet with you and provide them with necessary information they may require. The details of the key activities and specific involvements of other staff will be communicated by the project team as we progress on the journey.

I will be briefing you regularly on the progress and achievements of the project. Once again, please join me and the Group Executive Management on this journey of action to make NNPC a viable enterprise and a credible organization at which we will all be happy to make our career.