By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Omolola Oloworaran, says the commission’s ongoing Pension 2.0 reforms will remove barriers to pension and financial inclusion while improving customer service and public confidence in Nigeria’s pension system.

Oloworaran stated this in Abuja at PenCom’s 2026 Customer Service Week seminar, themed, “Extra Mile.

She said the reforms were anchored on three key principles such as innovation, inclusion and integrity aimed at making pension services more efficient and responsive to contributors, retirees, employers and other stakeholders.

According to her, the theme of the celebration reflected PenCom’s commitment to ensuring that Nigerian workers across the public, private and informal sectors can look forward to secure and dignified retirement.

She said the commission’s approach to pension administration recognised that every regulation and reform ultimately affected people who had entrusted their retirement savings to the system.

“Our duty is to justify that trust through efficiency, transparency and responsiveness to those we serve,” she said.

Under Pension 2.0, PenCom has introduced several regulatory initiatives aimed at expanding participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

One of the initiatives is the Guideline on the Administration of Retirement Savings Accounts in Foreign Currency, which provides a framework for Nigerians working for foreign companies and those living and working abroad to participate in the pension scheme.

Oloworaran said the initiative would make the pension system more responsive to the realities of an increasingly global workforce and create greater opportunities for Nigerians in the diaspora to participate in the scheme.

The commission has also introduced the Guideline on the Personal Pension Plan (PPP), targeting self-employed Nigerians and workers in the informal sector who have traditionally remained outside the formal pension system.

According to the PenCom DG, the plan is designed to remove barriers that have limited pension coverage and enable more Nigerians to build retirement savings regardless of their occupation or income level.

“The Personal Pension Plan embodies the spirit of ‘Mission Possible’ as it breaks long-standing barriers to financial inclusion and ensures that every Nigerian, regardless of income or occupation, can build a secure retirement,” she said.

To further expand access to the scheme, PenCom has developed a framework for engaging accredited pension agents to market and sell the Personal Pension Plan across the country.

The commission has also introduced revised corporate governance guidelines for licensed pension fund operators to strengthen accountability, transparency and ethical standards in the industry.

Oloworaran said the recapitalisation requirement for licensed pension fund operators was another major measure aimed at strengthening the financial capacity and resilience of the pension industry.

She explained that stronger capitalisation would help protect pension assets while improving the stability, efficiency and competitiveness of pension operators.

The PenCom boss said the reforms went beyond regulatory changes, stressing that they were also focused on improving the experience of contributors and retirees.

“Pension 2.0 is not merely about reform; it is about transforming the customer experience,” she said.

She added that the commission would continue to ensure that contributors could access their Retirement Savings Accounts seamlessly and promptly, while employers would have simpler and more transparent compliance processes.

Oloworaran further pledged that PenCom would strengthen its customer service culture, improve communication with stakeholders and enhance the digital platforms through which contributors and retirees interact with the pension system.

She described effective service delivery as critical to maintaining public confidence in pension administration and commended pension operators, employers, the media, government agencies and the public for their continued cooperation.

“Together, we are proving that with collaboration, innovation and commitment, the mission of delivering a sustainable and customer-focused pension system in Nigeria is not just possible; it is achievable,” she added.

By Tambaya Julius, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen the verification of election results and protect its systems from cyber threats ahead of the 2027 general elections.

 Chairman of INEC, Prof.

Amupitan said INEC had created a dedicated AI division within its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Department to improve the security and efficiency of its electoral operations.

He said the commission had also incorporated automated AI auditing tools into its result verification process under a five-pillar AI governance framework.

The chairman, however, stressed that the use of AI would not replace human oversight, as all AI-driven processes would be subject to mandatory human supervision.

“An AI governance framework policy is being finalised by the commission,” he said.

Amupitan said INEC was also working with international technology companies and other partners to introduce AI-powered anomaly detection tools into its systems.

According to him, the tools would help monitor database traffic, identify suspicious activities and guard against cyber intrusions and unauthorised changes to electoral data.

The planned measures come against the backdrop of concerns over the performance of INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) during the 2023 presidential election.

Ahead of the 2023 polls, INEC had assured Nigerians that results from polling units would be uploaded to the IReV platform, allowing voters, political parties, candidates, observers and other stakeholders to view scanned copies of result sheets.

The platform, however, experienced delays during the presidential election, with results from several polling units not appearing as expected after voting had ended. The situation generated concerns among Nigerians and other stakeholders.

Looking ahead to 2027, Amupitan said the commission was preparing for nationwide mock accreditation and public display exercises, while its personnel were undergoing training to ensure they were adequately prepared for the polls.

He described the activities as part of INEC’s “100-day sprint” towards the 2027 general election.

The INEC chairman also assured Nigerians and the international community that the commission would remain neutral and committed to protecting the integrity of the electoral process.

He thanked development partners and security agencies for their support, saying INEC would remain focused on its responsibilities before, during and after the elections.

“We reassure the nation and the international community of our total commitment to neutrality, operational excellence, and the sacred integrity of the ballot box,” Amupitan said.

“Let us work together to make the 2027 general election a moment of pride for our great nation.”

By Uche Uwaleke

The publication of NNPC Limited’s 2025 Audited Financial Statements (AFS) represents another important milestone in the transformation of Nigeria’s national oil company from the opaque institution it was widely perceived to be for decades into a commercially oriented, increasingly transparent and accountable energy company.

More importantly, the accounts provide evidence of a business that is improving its operational performance, strengthening its earnings capacity, generating more cash and gradually repositioning its portfolio towards higher-quality revenue streams.

The decision by NNPC Limited’s management to publish its audited financial statements on schedule and subsequently engage openly with the media, analysts and other stakeholders deserves commendation. This is particularly significant for an organization of NNPC’s size and strategic importance to the Nigerian economy.

The credibility of the 2025 accounts is further strengthened by the independent audit conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the world’s leading professional services firms. PwC issued an unmodified audit opinion on both the consolidated and separate financial statements, concluding that the financial statements fairly present the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the Group and the Company in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.

An unmodified opinion is not, and should not be interpreted as, a certification that every aspect of the company’s operations is efficient or that every management decision is optimal. It does, however, provide important assurance that the financial statements have been subjected to an independent audit and that, in the auditor’s professional opinion, they fairly present the company’s financial position and performance.

The headline financial performance is particularly impressive when considered against the difficult revenue environment in which it was achieved. Profit after tax increased by about 33 percent from ₦5.4 trillion in 2024 to ₦7.2 trillion in 2025, while earnings per share rose by about 32 percent to ₦35.9.

EBITDA increased by 22 percent to ₦18 trillion and net cash generated from operating activities rose by about 16.5 percent from ₦11 trillion to ₦12.8 trillion. The company also declared a ₦5.8 trillion dividend, representing a 35 percent increase over the previous year. These are significant numbers, particularly because they were achieved despite a substantial decline in revenue.

Revenue fell by circa 24 percent to ₦34.5 trillion, principally because of lower crude oil prices and reduced white petroleum product volumes following the deregulation of the downstream petrol market.

The decline in white-product revenue is important because deregulation fundamentally changed the economics and structure of NNPC Limited’s downstream business. While the reform was painful from a top-line revenue perspective, it has also helped to improve the quality of the company’s earnings by reducing its dependence on the lower-margin and subsidy-linked petrol business and increasing the relative contribution of crude oil, natural gas, LNG and other commercially driven activities.

Crude oil and natural gas now account for approximately 91 percent of revenue, compared with 77 percent in 2024, demonstrating a significant shift in portfolio composition.

What makes the 2025 performance particularly noteworthy is that costs declined alongside revenue, but at a pace that allowed margins and earnings to improve. Cost of sales fell by 24.6 percent from ₦33.36 trillion to ₦25.14 trillion, general and administrative expenses declined by about 27.6 percent from ₦3.58 trillion to ₦2.59 trillion, while selling and distribution expenses fell dramatically from ₦145.7 billion to ₦33.1 billion.

Consequently, gross profit margin improved from 26 percent to 27.2 percent, while general and administrative expenses also declined as a percentage of revenue. The figures therefore provide stronger evidence of cost discipline than simply looking at the absolute size of the company’s cost base.

This distinction is important in assessing the criticism surrounding NNPC Limited’s reported total costs of ₦27.76 trillion.

It would be misleading to characterize this entire amount as administrative overhead or discretionary expenditure.

About 91 percent of the total represents cost of sales, while only about ₦33.1 billion relates to selling and distribution and ₦2.59 trillion to general and administrative expenses. For an integrated energy company, cost of sales naturally includes the costs directly associated with producing, purchasing and selling oil, gas and petroleum products.

The 2025 accounts disclose, among other items, ₦4.66 trillion in royalties, ₦4.15 trillion in direct well expenses, ₦2.79 trillion in crude oil purchases, ₦1.86 trillion in gas purchases and ₦1.79 trillion in petroleum products.

The ₦3.71 trillion depreciation charge on oil and gas properties also deserves to be properly understood.

Depreciation is a genuine accounting expense because it recognizes the consumption of the economic benefits of long-lived assets over their useful lives, but it is not a ₦3.71 trillion cash payment made by NNPC Limited during 2025.

Treating the entire depreciation charge as if it represented cash expenditure during the year would therefore distort the interpretation of the accounts. At the same time, statutory payments such as royalties and the NDDC levy should be distinguished from controllable operating costs, while expenses such as gas-flaring charges deserve scrutiny because they can reflect operational inefficiencies and avoidable economic losses.

Proper analysis should therefore distinguish statutory obligations, accounting charges, commodity procurement costs, production costs and genuinely controllable expenditure.
The stronger earnings performance was accompanied by equally encouraging operational results. Crude oil and condensate production reached an average of 1.77 million barrels per day, representing the highest level in five years, while natural gas production reached 7.2 billion standard cubic feet per day, the highest in three years.

Total oil and condensate production increased to 565.8 million barrels, while NNPC Limited’s equity share increased by 11 percent to 223.7 million barrels.

Its equity share of gas production similarly increased by 11 percent to 1,154.9 billion standard cubic feet. The record performance of NNPC Exploration and Production Limited, which reached 355,000 barrels per day, is another indication that the operational improvements are increasingly translating into tangible production gains.

The improvement in production cannot be divorced from the company’s efforts to strengthen the reliability of its infrastructure and address the security challenges that have historically constrained Nigeria’s oil production. The reported average terminal recovery rate of 98 percent between April 2025 and May 2026, compared with operational lows of 1 percent at Bonny in 2022, illustrates the scale of the improvement in operational reliability.

A terminal with a high recovery rate enables a much greater proportion of the oil entering the system to be successfully handled and evacuated, thereby reducing losses and disruptions and creating the infrastructure reliability required to increase production volumes.

In simple terms, having oil underground is not enough; Nigeria must also be able to safely and reliably move it through pipelines and terminals and ultimately sell it.
The progress on gas infrastructure is equally significant.

The completion of the River Niger crossing on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline and the reported completion of the 40-inch by 623-kilometre AKK mainline represent important steps towards expanding Nigeria’s ability to transport gas to demand centres.

The commissioning of the ANOH-OB3 Custody Transfer Metering Station and progress towards start-up readiness of the 300 MMscfd ANOH Gas Processing Plant are also important developments. These projects are not merely engineering achievements; they are pieces of infrastructure capable of converting Nigeria’s abundant gas resources into commercially valuable energy, industrial feedstock and government revenue.

The strengthening of the company’s human capital is another noteworthy development. The company has disclosed that more than 1,000 young professionals completed a rigorous one-year internship and training programme before being deployed across the company, an initiative that has been referred to as the “1,000 Tigers” and forms part of NNPC Limited’s Talent-to-Value transformation.

For a company seeking to increase oil production, expand gas monetization, develop midstream infrastructure and create a more commercially competitive downstream business, the quality of its workforce will ultimately be as important as the quality of its physical assets. The reported increase in women’s representation in leadership positions to 23 percent, compared with an industry average of 17 percent, also indicates progress in developing a more diverse leadership structure.

Perhaps the most misunderstood item in the 2025 accounts is the ₦11.2 trillion reported as other receivables from the Federation. It is important to make a fundamental accounting distinction: this is a balance-sheet receivable, not ₦11.2 trillion of fresh security expenditure incurred in 2025. In simple terms, a receivable represents money or value that NNPC Limited says is owed to it.

The company explains that the ₦11.2 trillion comprises ₦8.67 trillion of energy-security receivables and ₦2.53 trillion of other advances and receivables from the Federation.
The background to this balance goes back to the previous year. The 2024 accounts contained an energy-security cost balance of ₦8.67 trillion at year-end, after NNPC Limited had recognised approximately ₦7.13 trillion of energy-security expense during 2024.

These costs related to the approved framework under which NNPC Limited could incur certain costs associated with protecting national oil and gas infrastructure and subsequently recover those costs from the Federation. The important point is that the ₦8.67 trillion was not a new 2025 expense.

NNPC Limited has stated that no energy-security expense was recognised during 2025 and that, following a reconciliation with the relevant government agencies, the energy-security cost receivables were netted against royalties, taxes and dividends due as at December 2024.

The reconciliation was concluded in September 2025. In accounting terms, netting means that instead of one party paying the other and then receiving money back, mutually recognized amounts can be offset.

This clarification is important because the ₦11.2 trillion should not be interpreted as evidence that NNPC Limited suddenly spent ₦11.2 trillion on security during 2025. The figure represents a balance-sheet receivable comprising cumulative amounts due to the company in respect of costs and advances incurred on behalf of the Federation, subject to the reconciliation and settlement arrangements described by management.

The fact that the balance was audited and reconciled with the relevant government agencies further reinforces the importance of examining the accounting substance rather than relying on the headline figure.
Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding the ₦11.2 trillion provides NNPC Limited with an opportunity to improve an already improving disclosure culture. Given the enormous public interest in government-related receivables and energy-security expenditure, future financial statements would benefit from a more detailed movement schedule showing the opening balance, additions during the year, amounts settled in cash, amounts offset against taxes, royalties and dividends, foreign-exchange movements, reclassifications and the closing balance. Similar additional disclosure should be considered for any other material item that is likely to attract significant public scrutiny. Greater granularity would not necessarily indicate a weakness in the accounts; rather, it would reduce the scope for misinterpretation and strengthen public confidence in the financial statements.

The broader story emerging from the 2025 accounts is therefore considerably more positive than the headline decline in revenue might suggest. Revenue fell, but profit increased by one-third; cost of sales declined by roughly one-quarter; administrative expenses fell by more than one-quarter; operating cash flow increased by 16.5 percent; production reached multi-year highs; the company’s equity volumes increased; net debt reportedly declined by 28 percent to ₦15.9 trillion; net assets increased by 15 percent to ₦44.8 trillion; and the dividend increased to ₦5.8 trillion. These are meaningful indicators of a business whose financial performance is becoming less dependent on simply growing the top line.

The transformation should also be viewed within the historical context of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021. For much of its existence since its establishment in 1977, NNPC was widely perceived as an opaque institution, particularly because of the complexity surrounding its commercial activities, government relationships, subsidy arrangements, remittances and financial reporting.

The conversion into NNPC Limited under the PIA fundamentally changed its legal and commercial framework and created an opportunity to operate on a more transparent and commercially accountable basis. The improvement in financial reporting since 2022, culminating in the timely publication of the 2025 audited accounts and direct engagement with analysts and the media, represents a significant cultural change that should be acknowledged and encouraged.

The current management deserves credit for this progress. Publishing audited accounts on schedule, conducting earnings calls, providing detailed explanations of financial performance and responding publicly to criticisms are practices that should become institutionalized rather than dependent on the personalities of individual executives.

The CEO’s willingness to discuss both achievements and remaining weaknesses, including the acknowledgement that NNPC Limited is not yet where it needs to be in unit operating costs and refinery performance, is particularly encouraging. Transparency becomes meaningful when management is prepared not only to highlight favourable numbers but also to acknowledge areas requiring further improvement.

The company’s ambitions, however, are substantial and will require much more than a good set of financial statements. The targets of 2 million barrels per day of crude oil production by 2027 and 3 million barrels per day by 2030, alongside gas production of 10 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2027 and 12 billion by 2030, will require sustained investment, infrastructure reliability, security, technical capability and access to capital.

The planned mobilization of $60 billion across the energy value chain by 2030 therefore represents both an opportunity and a formidable execution challenge. Meeting these targets will be the ultimate test of whether the operational transformation evident in 2025 can be sustained over several years.

The same principle applies to the refineries. The Technical Equity Partnership model and the MoU signed in April 2026 with prospective Chinese partners provide a potentially more commercially disciplined approach to completing and operating the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries. However, the public should judge this initiative by definitive agreements, capital commitments, rehabilitation milestones, operating performance and commercial returns rather than announcements alone.

Management’s stated determination not to repeat cycles of announcements without delivery is therefore welcome.
There is also a broader governance opportunity that NNPC Limited should seize as it continues its transformation. The company’s stated ambition to become globally competitive should ultimately include a clearly articulated programme for its proposed listing on the Nigerian Exchange. Rather than treating a future listing merely as an event, NNPC Limited could develop a transparent, multi-year listing-readiness programme with measurable milestones covering financial reporting, corporate governance, board independence, disclosure standards, audited financial history, subsidiary restructuring, investor relations, dividend policy, capital structure and other requirements necessary for a successful public offering.

The experience of Saudi Aramco provides a useful benchmark in this regard. Saudi Aramco’s eventual listing on the Tadawul was preceded by a prolonged process of preparing the company, strengthening disclosure, establishing governance structures and positioning the business for public-market scrutiny. NNPC Limited need not replicate Saudi Aramco’s model because Nigeria’s institutional, fiscal and capital-market circumstances are different, but it can draw an important lesson from it: a successful listing is the culmination of years of institutional preparation, not simply the decision to sell shares. A published NNPC Limited listing-readiness roadmap, with annual targets and publicly reported progress, would provide investors and Nigerians with an additional measure of accountability.

Overall, NNPC Limited’s 2025 Audited Financial Statements should be regarded as a strong and encouraging set of results. The company increased profit significantly despite a major fall in revenue, generated more operating cash, reduced its major cost categories, improved its margins, increased production, strengthened its balance sheet and declared a substantially higher dividend. More importantly, the operational improvements suggest that the financial performance is being supported by real changes in production, infrastructure reliability, gas development and organizational capability.

The accounts do not establish that every aspect of NNPC Limited is efficient, nor should they shield the company from legitimate scrutiny. A world-class national energy company must be prepared to explain its costs, government receivables, capital allocation, security expenditure, refinery investments and returns with increasing levels of precision.

But scrutiny should be based on the substance of the accounts rather than headline numbers taken out of context. On that basis, the 2025 results provide considerable evidence that NNPC Limited is moving in the right direction.
The most encouraging aspect of the 2025 performance is therefore not simply the ₦7.2 trillion profit. It is the combination of stronger earnings, stronger cash generation, higher production, improved infrastructure reliability, a more resilient portfolio and increasingly transparent reporting. NNPC Limited has moved a considerable distance from the institution Nigerians knew for decades.

The task now is to institutionalize these gains, deepen disclosure, strengthen governance, execute the ambitious investment programme and ultimately demonstrate that the transformation can produce sustained value for shareholders, the Federal Government and, most importantly, the Nigerian people.

Prof Uche Uwaleke FCMA is Director of the Nasarawa State University Institute of Capital Market Studies and President of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria