CSO Rejects Calls For NNPCL Chief’s Removal

A group, Nigeria Citizens’ Watch for Good Governance (NCWGG), has rejected calls for the resignation of the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari.

They described the demand for his sack as baseless, unfair and politically motivated.
The group also defended the N7.13 trillion reportedly recorded as energy security and pipeline protection expenditure in the company’s 2024 financial records, saying that the spending was necessary to combat crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday on the state of the nation, the national chairman of NCWGG, Collins Idowu Eshiofeh, said the calls for Ojulari’s removal ignored the operational realities of securing Nigeria’s oil infrastructure and the progress recorded under the current NNPCL leadership.

Eshiofeh said, “We are here today to state categorically that this call is baseless, economically illiterate and fundamentally unfair to a man whose leadership has brought unprecedented transparency and profitability to an institution that was once a byword for opacity.”

He said the N7.13 trillion expenditure should not be interpreted as a vague or concealed financial item, explaining that energy security and pipeline protection involved a broad, multi-year operation aimed at protecting critical national assets.

According to him, the programme covers aerial and maritime surveillance, advanced leak detection systems, fibre-optic monitoring technology, community-based intelligence gathering, logistics support for security agencies and the rehabilitation of damaged pipelines.

“The NNPCL did not wake up one morning and decide to spend N7.13 trillion on a vague line item.

“Energy security and pipeline protection is a comprehensive, multi-year national security operation designed to defeat the industrial-scale theft of crude oil, the vandalism of critical transport infrastructure and the illegal refining that, for decades, bled the nation and damaged the Niger Delta environment,” he added.

The NCWGG chairman said the investments had contributed to the recovery of Nigeria’s crude oil production, which had declined to about 900,000 barrels per day in 2022.

He said production rose to an average of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2024 and had exceeded 1.6 million barrels per day in recent months, including condensates.

According to Eshiofeh, the increase in production represented significant additional revenue for the Federation and demonstrated that the security investments were yielding measurable returns.

“At an average oil price of 80 dollars per barrel, the additional 600,000 barrels per day translates to approximately 48 million dollars in additional daily revenue for the Federation, or over 17 billion dollars annually.

“When compared with the security expenditure being criticised, the return on investment is several multiples in a single year.”

He added that the security operations had resulted in the deactivation of more than 6,000 illegal refineries, the recovery of large volumes of stolen crude oil and refined products, and the removal of thousands of illegal pipeline connections.

Eshiofeh dismissed claims that the expenditure lacked adequate disclosure, saying NNPCL had continued to publish financial and operational reports and provide information through its official platforms and legislative oversight engagements.

On allegations of secrecy and weak accountability, the group said Ojulari’s leadership had strengthened transparency and improved the company’s financial performance.

The NCWGG chairman noted that NNPCL had published audited financial statements and recorded substantial profits, adding that the company’s financial records were available for public scrutiny.

He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to disregard the demand for Ojulari’s resignation and continue supporting the NNPCL Board and management.