Post #412

Dressing Up the Bride👗 The Nigerian government engages in legalistic tinkering to polish the image of a state corporation 🇳🇬 It has emerged that Nigeria’s president Tinubu has written off about $1.4 billion in debts owed by the state oil corporation NNPC to the government — effectively all of the company’s debts before 2025. 🔖 Fixing the image of a company long seen as inefficient and corrupt is viewed by the current president as one of the symbols of his tenure. Over the past year, the corporation has changed its head and begun actively seeking private partners for stalled projects. 📣 There have been no fewer loud statements than real changes. At various points, NNPC has claimed to have defeated oil theft or to have posted record profits. Given that its 2024 profits alone ($3.6 billion) would have been more than enough to cover all debts, the decision to write them off is clearly not driven by economic logic. 🧻 The guys in Abuja are trying to further whitewash the company’s image — though the debt write-off is aimed less at the general public than at "serious" investors. In addition to attracting new partners, the government also wants to sell a stake in NNPC on the stock exchange. ⏩ The welfare of millions of citizens and Nigeria’s energy security depend on whether the government can genuinely rehabilitate NNPC. Despite all the noise, this may turn out to be little more than stage dressing with no real change, and such blanket debt forgiveness hardly helps the fight against corruption within the sector. ➡️ Follow to stay informed - @devilsbelow