The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recorded zero voluntary resignations among its employees for the second consecutive year, a development the company attributed to staff confidence in its future, career opportunities, job security and the desire to be part of its transformation into a commercially driven energy company.
The disclosure was contained in NNPC Limited’s 2025 Annual Financial Report analysed on Monday, which showed that the company recorded a zero per cent withdrawal-from-service rate across all employee age bands below 60 years in both 2024 and 2025.
The report showed that employees aged 30 years and below, 31–39, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54 and 55–59 all recorded a zero per cent withdrawal-from-service rate in 2025. The same age groups also recorded zero per cent in 2024, indicating that there were no voluntary exits recorded across the categories during the two-year period.
The only 100 per cent rate recorded in the table was for employees aged 60, reflecting retirement at the applicable age rather than voluntary resignation.
Commenting, NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh, said the retention rate was an indication of stability within the organisation and suggested that employees continued to see opportunities for career growth and professional fulfilment in the company.
“If people in an organisation for the whole year don’t exit, it also means that the organisation is stable. The organisation can be trusted and that colleagues see prospects going forward,” Odeh said.
He spoke during an NNPC Limited X Spaces conversation on its 2025 audited financial statements, stating that the company had a pool of highly mobile and ambitious employees who were prepared to support its transition and growth, adding that retention in the energy industry was not determined by salaries alone.
“One of the biggest opportunities the company has had is the fact that you have very strong, highly mobile, in terms of ambition and support for the business, talent within the organisation. But there are a few things that I just want to share with you,” he said.
Odeh said employees in the energy industry also considered job security, opportunities for career development, a safe working environment and a sense of purpose when deciding whether to remain with an organisation.
“When you see opportunity to grow your career, because indeed in the energy industry, for most people it’s not about salary; it’s just about salary. They look for security, they look for opportunities to develop, they look for a safe work environment, and of course they want to work in a place that gives them purpose,” he said.
He said the transformation of NNPC from a corporation into a limited liability company had created a unique opportunity for employees to participate in what could become a significant chapter in the history of Nigeria’s energy industry.
“Where we are as an organisation today, moving from a corporation to a company, the company is at the cusp of history, and anybody who is in the organisation today wants to be part of the huge success,” Odeh said.
“When all of these things come together, people have strong reasons to stay, and I believe that’s why people are staying and wanting to leave,” he added.
Odeh said the company’s challenge was therefore not simply to prevent employees from leaving but to understand and strengthen the factors that made them want to remain.
“Consider that taking retention for granted. The real trick is to get the reasons to stay, rather than the reasons to leave. So where we are now, a lot of people stay and want to stay because they want to be part of history, they want to be part of a career that is clear and prosperous at the end of the day,” he said.
He added that the company’s broader purpose of contributing to the country’s development also provided an incentive for employees to remain with the organisation. “Success at an energy company, building a better country, and making an impact in the world,” he said.
The staff retention data comes as NNPC reported record profitability in its 2025 financial year despite a significant decline in revenue.
The 2025 report further showed that the company’s employee benefit expenses stood at N782.76bn for the Group, compared with N702.39bn in 2024. For the company alone, employee benefit expenses rose to N270.70bn from N219.18bn.
The figures include salaries and wages, staff allowances, staff welfare expenses and other employee benefits.
NNPC Financial Controller, Tajudeen Kareem, said the company’s revenue fell by about 24 per cent in 2025, largely because of lower crude oil prices and structural changes in the downstream petroleum market.
Despite the decline in revenue, profit after tax rose by 33 per cent to N7.2tn, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 22 per cent.
Operating cash flow also rose by 16 per cent, while the company declared a dividend of about N5.8tn, representing a 35 per cent increase from the N4.3tn declared in the previous year.
Kareem said the figures demonstrated that NNPC was becoming more profitable despite operating with a smaller revenue base.
“If you look at the 2025 results, it tells a compelling story. It was a year of lower crude prices, and there were significant structural changes in the energy sector due to regulation of the downstream. Despite this, NNPC Limited delivered higher profitability, a record one, stronger cash generation and therefore improved returns to shareholders,” he said.
“Put simply, I think we all agree that NNPC Limited delivered value from a smaller revenue base and that is what we’ll be discussing today,” he added.
Kareem said the lower revenue was mainly caused by the decline in crude oil prices and reduced petroleum product sales following changes in the downstream sector. “Crude oil prices fell about $10 from about $79 or $80 in the 2024 average. We recorded about $69 in 2025,” he said.
He added that NNPC sold about 12 billion fewer litres of petroleum products in 2025 than in 2024, following changes to the company’s participation in the downstream market.
However, he said the lower turnover also reduced production costs and allowed the company to focus more on higher-margin activities.
“This is why the decline in revenue should not be automatically interpreted as deterioration in the business. Because what will happen is that we shifted our focus to higher margins and then we deliver the higher profitability. It is not every naira of revenue that creates the same value,” Kareem said.
The company’s cost of sales ratio improved from 74 per cent to 73 per cent, while general and administrative expenses declined by 28 per cent as part of management’s cost-optimisation measures.
Kareem also said NNPC’s net debt declined by 28 per cent during the year, while stronger cash generation and recovery of receivables improved the company’s financial position.
He said the company’s transformation into a commercially driven organisation had also made financial discipline critical to its survival and growth.
“We are now like fatherless orphans. Before PIA, you could rely on the Federal Government budget, and then, you know, that will probably be something that you can always follow on. But when you move out, and you stand on your own, and there is no somebody to bail you out, right, commercially driven organisation, it is paramount that you ensure that that discipline is not only maintained, but sustained,” Kareem said.
He said NNPC would continue to focus on production growth, asset reliability, cost management and gas development as it works towards its target of producing three million barrels of oil per day by 2030.