The new entity, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, was unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in the capital Abuja.

The government hopes the conversion of the state-owned oil company to a commercial one will attract more foreign investment to the oil sector.

President Buhari said the new company would deliver value to more than 200 million Nigerians.

Last year, after two decades of trying, a new law was passed to allow the privatisation of the company and an overhaul of the oil sector.

Nigeria is one of Africa's leading oil producers.

But its citizens say they have benefitted little from the wealth.

Anti-corruption campaigners have long asked for more transparency and accountability in the Nigerian oil industry.