NNPCL CEO Bayo Ojulari Asked to Resign: "Subsidy through Backdoor"
- A coalition of energy consultants called on NNPCL Group CEO Bayo Ojulari to resign over alleged secrecy surrounding the company's finances
- The Association of Energy Policy and Development Consultants flagged alleged ₦7.13 trillion in energy security and pipeline protection claims in NNPCL's 2024 records
- The group accused NNPCL of reintroducing subsidy-like obligations through indirect financial mechanisms that remain hidden from public scrutiny
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Abuja, FCT - A coalition of energy consultants has demanded the immediate resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, citing a pattern of financial opacity and weak accountability in how the nation's oil assets are managed.
The Association of Energy Policy and Development Consultants (AEPDC) made the call in a statement signed by its national president, Dr Ibrahim Danjuma, on Friday, July 31, in Abuja.
Source: Twitter
The group raised alarm over figures in NNPCL's 2024 financial records, which reportedly showed total claims and under-recovery costs of about ₦17.5 trillion. Of that sum, approximately ₦7.13 trillion was said to be classified as energy security and pipeline protection expenses — a categorisation the association said lacked sufficient public explanation.
AEPDC Questions Trillion-Naira Security Claims
While acknowledging that protecting oil and gas infrastructure is critical to the economy, the group said no corporate body should expect Nigerians to accept expenditures in the trillions without detailed disclosure.
"The Nigerian people deserve to know precisely what these enormous expenditures covered, who the contractors are, the procurement processes adopted, the duration of the contracts, the performance benchmarks, and the value delivered to the nation," the statement read.
The consultants also took aim at the joint investigative panel set up by the National Assembly's Committees on Petroleum Upstream, Midstream, Downstream and Gas to examine the contracts. They said Nigerians are still waiting for a public report from that exercise and urged lawmakers to conclude the probe and release their findings without further delay.
Group Says Subsidy Has Returned Through the Backdoor
Beyond the security spending, the AEPDC raised a broader concern: that NNPCL's opaque financial practices are quietly bringing back subsidy-like costs under different labels.
"It is difficult to convince Nigerians that subsidy has ended when massive claims continue to emerge under various classifications whose operational details remain largely unavailable for public scrutiny," the statement said.
The group insisted that a commercially driven national oil company has no business operating with the level of secrecy currently on display. It called on the federal government to strengthen oversight of NNPCL and ensure all expenditures related to energy security, pipeline surveillance, and infrastructure protection are subjected to independent audits on a regular basis.
On Ojulari's future at the helm, the association said:
"If Mr Bayo Ojulari cannot inspire confidence through transparent management, timely disclosures, and accountable corporate governance, then he should consider stepping aside in the overall interest of the institution and the nation."
Tinubu Urged to Probe NNPCL GCEO, Ojulari
In another report, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to order an immediate probe into the multiple allegations against Engr Ojulari.
A pro democracy group, Network for Good Governance and Accountability in Nigeria (NeGGAN), said Ojulari refused to honour the invitations of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts over the ongoing probe of the unaccounted N230 trillion.
Source: Legit.ng
