The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari has said that NNPC Retail made N18.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023, after acquiring OVH Energy in 2022.

Kyari said this while addressing the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the OVH Acquisition by the NNPCL yesterday  in Abuja.

This information was shared by the company via its official Twitter account.

NNPCL had in October 2022, acquired the Oando retail brand, OVH Energy Marketing. The acquisition added 380 filling stations to what the NNPC had, which amounted to almost 1,500 retail stations at the time.

“We are happy with the acquisition of OVH. For instance, in 2021 before the acquisition, NNPC Retail made N6.93bn profit. But in one quarter after the acquisition (1st Qtr 2023), we made a profit of N18.4bn. This is all as a result of the acquisition.

“NNPCL is a creation of the federation with over 200 million Nigerians as shareholders. The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) also grants us the mandate to guarantee national energy security. On this basis, it is duty-bound on us to increase our market share,” Kyari said.

He, however, expressed his pain over allegations against the acquisition saying they were not true.

“We believe that the only way we can grow our market share is by expanding our business. Since the acquisition of OVH, the profit margin of NNPC Retail has jumped.

“In every merger and acquisition, there is a transition period. We are rising to those challenges brought about by the transition. We are also ensuring that none of our staff at NNPC Retail is victimized. Staff are placed where they are best fit towards optimum performance,” he added