Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's president, assured last Tuesday that the country's state-owned oil company was now free from state interference.

Nigeria's largest oil producer, Nigeria derives most of its foreign exchange resources from the oil sector, which makes up nearly half of the EU budget ; condition. For example, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited) was known as the country's slush fund. But a year after the Nigerian president signed the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), the former state-owned oil company has finally metamorphosed into a commercial enterprise that is free of funding and other interferences of the state. According to Muhammadu Buhari, “the creation of an independent, trade-oriented national oil company that will operate without relying on state funding” will attract much more interest from foreign investors.