The pioneer Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Foundation, Dr Emmanuella Arukwe, has said the oil company is widely misunderstood by Nigerians, blaming legacy perceptions and poor storytelling for the image problem.
Arukwe spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2nd Reputation Roundtable organised by the Federal Capital Territory chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, where stakeholders examined the intersection of corporate governance, perception and economic recovery.
She argued that lingering sentiments about the old Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation continue to shape public opinion about its successor entity, despite reforms that transformed it into a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act.
“The NNPC is wrongly perceived by the public, owing largely to conceptions about the then corporation, which were heightened because we’re not telling our stories.
“As a limited liability company, NNPC storytelling is gradually evolving. The public needs to know that the NNPC upholds very high standards of corporate governance and appraise disciplined process in its operation, while delivering value to Nigerians beyond its products to its social investments.
“This we have demonstrated with the social intervention at the NNPC Foundation. We distribute equitably across Nigeria based on evidence data. In the digital age, fast-paced global space, perception is formed in real time. We look in the mirror and see ourselves as us, but the public looks at us and sees beyond ourselves,” she said.
According to Arukwe, the NNPC Foundation executed several impactful social interventions and programmes across Nigeria in the last three years of its existence.
The interventions, she added, covered every state, including the Federal Capital Territory and host communities.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Army Resource Centre, Major General J.G.K. Myam, warned that misinformation amplified by digital platforms and artificial intelligence has complicated reputation management for institutions.
He said, “There are so many misconceptions on social media and that, for analytical purposes, includes the perversiveness of artificial intelligence. The more challenging the job is, demanded of reputation management.
“It is significant and quite apt that the United Nations has now emplaced a 40-member independent team to begin to deliberate how to manage the entire ecosystem of artificial intelligence in a manner that would allow humanity to retain its technologies and profound advantages, without necessarily having to suffer from its malign possibilities.”
In his remarks, Acting President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Prof Emmanuel Dandaura, linked reputation to Nigeria’s broader economic realities, noting that public trust in institutions is being tested by macroeconomic pressures.
“We are gathered at a time when Nigeria’s GDP growth projections hover around 3.5 per cent, yet unemployment remains stubbornly above 30 per cent, and inflation still exceeds 20 per cent. These numbers are not abstract statistics — they are lived realities that shape public confidence in institutions, public and private alike.
“Today, reputation is not a solo journey. It is a shared foundation that must support economic recovery, investment attraction, job creation and citizens’ faith in the system.
“Today, perception travels at the speed of social media and sentiment indexes. This is not a cosmetic shift. It is systemic. If Nigeria is to strengthen its economic architecture, corporate integrity must become a competitive asset. It must be measurable, not merely aspirational,” he stated.
The roundtable drew communication professionals, corporate leaders and policy stakeholders, amid growing debate over public trust, institutional transparency and the role of strategic communication in shaping Nigeria’s economic future.
