The new leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has raised the alarm over the activities of some saboteurs within and outside various levels of the organisation who feel threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change in Nigeria’s foremost energy firm.
The management of the state-owned oil company said the group is actively spreading lies and misinformation simply to discredit NNPC’s leadership and derail the organisation’s ongoing transformation into a corruption-free, performance-driven energy company.
This disclosure is contained in a public notice issued by the management of NNPC on Friday, June 27, 2025.
According to the statement, their tactics include planting scandalous and fabricated reports, curated to distract leadership, mislead the public, and undermine the commitment of our dedicated workforce and reform-minded Nigerians.
What the NNPC is saying
NNPC in the statement said, ‘’The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has uncovered an emerging coordinated sabotage campaign being waged by a syndicate of known and faceless actors, both outside and within various levels of the organisation.
‘’This group is actively spreading lies and misinformation simply to discredit NNPC Ltd.’s leadership and derail the organisation’s ongoing transformation into a corruption-free, performance-driven energy company, in line with the mandate of His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The energy firm revealed that their tactics include planting scandalous and fabricated reports, curated to distract leadership, mislead the public, and undermine the commitment of our dedicated workforce and reform-minded Nigerians.
The statement describes these actions as calculated efforts by those who feel threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change currently going on at NNPC.
It added, ‘’These are calculated efforts by those who feel threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change—clear evidence of the lengths to which they will go to obstruct the transformation of Nigeria’s foremost energy institution.
‘’We expect a surge of defamatory content in the days and weeks ahead. NNPC Ltd. remains undeterred. The transformation is underway, and no amount of sabotage will stop it.
‘’We urge our dedicated staff, stakeholders, and all patriotic Nigerians to stay focused, ignore the noise, and not be discouraged. We remain on mission.’’
What you should know
Recall that on April 2, 2025, President Bola Tinubu approved the reconstitution of the NNPC board, removing the chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
The president appointed a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
- Meanwhile, the Senate had earlier in June issued a one-week ultimatum to the NNPC Ltd to provide detailed explanations for alleged financial discrepancies amounting to over N210 trillion in its audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023.
- This directive was issued during a tense session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, where the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, appeared alongside other top executives.
- Lawmakers expressed outrage over what they described as “mind-boggling irregularities” in the company’s records, particularly figures listed under accrued expenses and receivables, which were flagged in the audit report.
However, on Thursday, June 26, the committee threatened to issue an arrest warrant on the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, if he fails to appear before it on July 10.
- The committee, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada, issued the directive during a brief session of the committee in Abuja after officials of the NNPC failed to appear before it as expected.
- Rather than appear, the NNPCL, instead, in a letter signed by Adedapo Segun on behalf of the GCEO and read by the committee clerk, Sani Abdullahi, requested an additional two months to prepare a detailed response.
Wadada strongly rejected the request and condemned the absence of NNPCL officials, saying it demonstrated a disregard for the committee’s summons.
Nig deserves to know what is going on in every public organisations. Nig Port Authority, NNPC, etc