The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has said there is no fixed date yet for its proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO), stressing that the final decision to list the company will be taken by its shareholders.
Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a press conference on the company’s 2025 Audited Financial Statements, held after its Annual General Meeting.
Ojulari said NNPC management was focused on ensuring the company is fully prepared for a potential IPO, while consultants and other relevant parties assess its readiness.
According to Ojulari, management cannot unilaterally determine when the IPO will take place, as the decision ultimately rests with the company’s shareholders. “We don’t have a date, but we are working hard to make sure we are ready as soon as we can,” he said.
He added that the IPO decision would be made by shareholders on behalf of the country. “The decision to take IPO is not ours. It’s the shareholders that will take ultimately that decision on behalf of the country,” Ojulari said.
He explained that consultants and other relevant parties were still evaluating the company’s overall preparedness before a timeline could be established.
The GCEO said the outcome of those assessments would provide greater clarity on when the company would be ready to proceed.
Ojulari said the timing of the proposed IPO would depend on the outcome of the readiness assessment, prevailing market conditions and other strategic considerations.
He said the responsibility of NNPC’s management and board was to ensure that the company had met the necessary requirements and could provide the evidence needed to support a successful listing.
According to him, transparency, accountability and sustainable performance would be central to the company’s preparations. “Therefore, we need to set our bar where it belongs. To do that, we have to make sure there is transparency, clear accountability and sustainable performance,” he said.
Ojulari reiterated that while management could prepare NNPC for a potential listing, the ultimate decision to proceed would rest with the shareholders.
The company is expected to announce a timeline for the IPO after the relevant assessments have been completed and the necessary advice received.
The proposed NNPC IPO has been under consideration for several years as part of the company’s transformation into a commercially focused energy company.
In March 2025, NNPC said it was at an advanced stage of preparations for an IPO and had commenced an “IPO Beauty Parade” to select partners for investor relations, IPO readiness advisory and investment banking support.
The process was being pursued in line with provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
In July 2025, Ojulari said NNPC had a roadmap to achieve a stock market listing by 2028.
