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Tag: BAYO OJULARI

  • Fact Over Assumption: NNPC’s New Drive for Openness and Reform

    Fact Over Assumption: NNPC’s New Drive for Openness and Reform

    By Enam Obioso

    For years, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd)  lived at the intersection of perception and reality, its reputation shaped as much by public sentiment as by its internal dynamics. That tension lingered in the air on Monday evening when Mr. Andy Odeh, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, addressed a select audience of journalists and industry experts in what he described as a long-overdue engagement, one designed to confront a problem that has followed the national oil company for decades: assumptions.

    ‘Reducing the Quantity and Quality of Assumptions’

    Odeh spoke with the candor of someone who knows the industry’s sensitivities from within. Drawing on his two and a half decades at Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), he admitted that he too once shared many of the misconceptions about NNPC, until firsthand experience revealed the complexity behind its operations.

    “Any opportunities we have to reduce the quantity and quality of assumptions are important,” he said.
    The event, he explained, stemmed from an internal reflection two weeks earlier as the company prepared to release its 2024 audited financials. The goal was to open the books and the thinking behind them to a small circle of informed professionals. “For those who know the sector, you are actually the first advocates,” he told the room.

    Representing the Group Chief Executive Officer, Odeh emphasized that the session was not about defending NNPC, but about building a fact-based dialogue that narrows the gap between perception and reality.

    Numbers That Tell a Story

    The numbers unveiled that evening were striking:

    • Revenue: ₦45.1 trillion
    • Profit After Tax: ₦5.4 trillion
    • Revenue Growth: 88% year-on-year
    • Profit Growth: 64%
    • Earnings per Share: ₦27.07

    In a year marked by market volatility, exchange rate instability, and inflationary pressure, the results pointed to a resilient organization executing with steadiness and discipline.

    But beyond the celebration of figures, the night invited scrutiny, a conversation between facts and perspectives.

    The Professors Weigh In

    The first to speak was a Professor Emeritus, Wunmi Iledare who urged the company to focus more on cost efficiency. “Price is market-determined and volume is geological. Cost is the only lever NNPC can truly control,” he said.
    He likened Nigeria’s relationship with NNPC to a football field where “every citizen feels like a petroleum expert,” a sentiment he said often fuels misunderstanding.

    He also cautioned against expecting perfect outcomes overnight, given the company’s ongoing transition under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021. What matters, he said, is measurable progress, and on that score, NNPC had indeed advanced in six key areas.

    Next came Professor Uche Uwaleke, a former state Commissioner of Finance and member of the FAAC Post-Mortem Committee. He recalled years when FAAC meetings stalled over NNPC’s reports. “This year is different,” he noted, pointing to PwC’s unqualified audit opinion and a profit increase from ₦3.3 trillion to ₦5.4 trillion.

    He credited the performance to improved crude volumes, cost optimization, and stronger procurement processes. “This is a full year we can compare. This is an improvement,” he said, though he added that the company’s ambitious targets must be examined carefully.

    The Questions That Remain

    Uwaleke’s remarks cut to the heart of future expectations:
    Can NNPC truly achieve 2 million barrels per day by 2026, and 3 million barrels per day by 2030?
    Can gas production expand to 10–12 billion cubic feet per day within that timeframe?
    And how soon will the refineries and the $60 billion investment pipeline become reality?

    The questions were not confrontational but constructive, mirroring the company’s own acknowledgment that transparency is an ongoing process, not a one-time declaration.

    A Company in Transition

    NNPC’s 2024 strategy reflects its broader ambition:

    • Increased upstream production
    • Expanded gas infrastructure
    • Continued capital expenditure (₦8.9 trillion for the year)
    • Reduced routine flaring
    • Growth in crude and LNG trading volumes

    The session ended as it began, with candor and curiosity. For NNPC, it was an invitation to let experts and the public judge its progress through evidence rather than rumor. For the experts, it was an opportunity to test the company’s story against reality.

    What emerged was not a debate over perfection, but a measured conversation about progress, accountability, and the long path ahead for Nigeria’s most consequential energy enterprise.

  • NNPC Ltd Committed to Developing a Robust Downstream

    NNPC Ltd Committed to Developing a Robust Downstream

    Says, competition alone was no longer enough to drive efficiency, adding that operators must embrace collaboration, sustainability, and resilience as the new benchmarks for success.

    Renown energy expert and Head of Nigeria’s National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari says his leadership is currently preoccupied with revamping facilities in the nation’s oil and gas  downstream sector.

    He emphasised that such a move was required to enhance collaboration and drive efficiency in the sector.

    The NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), stated this at the opening ceremony of the 2025 OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week in Lagos on Monday.

    Engr Ojulari made the disclosure while speaking in alignment with the conference’s theme “Energy Sustainability: Beyond Boundaries & Competition.”

    Doubling down on NNPCL’s current growth and rebranding focus under his leadership, Mr.  Ojulari said competition alone was no longer enough to drive efficiency, adding that operators must embrace collaboration, sustainability, and resilience as the new benchmarks for success.

    “At NNPC, we are committed to deploying additional infrastructure across the oil

    and gas value chain while revamping our existing downstream infrastructure

    nationwide.

    These assets will be accessible to partners seeking to store and

    transport products, supporting strategic alliances and collaboration in the

    downstream sector,” the GCEO said.

    Excerpts of Mr. Ojulari’s presentation was made available to Nigerian Anchor in a statement under the signature of NNPCL Chief Communication Officer (CCCO), Mr. Andrew Odeh.

    In the statement, Mr. Ojulari was reported to have disclosed that a cocktail of factors ranging from strategic policies and fiscal incentives to transparent and well-structured regulatory frameworks exemplified by the PIA have engendered expansion and growth in the sector requiring new skill sets and further investments in new lines of business such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and mini-LNG projects.

    The GCEO also urged participants at the conference to discuss challenges and align on opportunities “to redefine energy systems in ways that are both profitable and

    sustainable, to forge cross-sector partnerships that transcend traditional

    competition, and to explore innovative business models and technologies that

    support decarbonization while driving economic value”.

    Nigerian Anchor reports that the OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week is the continent’s leading downstream and midstream energy event for international organizations, policy makers, and regulators.

    It is also focused to benefit development organisations, operators, service providers., and consumers in the downstream energy value-chain.

  • Civil society groups back Ojulari, slams attacks as baseless

    By Daniel Michael

    A coalition of civil society organisations has endorsed Engr. Bayo Ojulari, the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited NNPCL).

    The coalition hinged their endorsement on what they called “achievement of significant milestones under his leadership.”

    Engr. Bayo Ojulari marks four months since taking over as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

    Briefing the media on behalf of the Coalition on Friday, in Abuja, Dr. Gabriel Nwambu commended Ojulari for implementing bold reforms across operational transparency, fiscal discipline and global competitiveness.

    He said: “It is safe to say that the man has proven himself not only as a capable administrator but also a rare breed of technocrat.”

    “Today, through effective and innovative contract reengineering and industry collaboration, the 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project has crossed the River Niger, marking a major step towards delivering the project that would turn around the industrial fortunes of Nigeria.

    “His leadership acumen has also ensured significant increase in Nigeria’s crude oil production, generating more revenue for the country in the process.

    “Under Ojulari’s watch, for the first time in a long while, the nation enjoyed 100% crude oil pipelines availability throughout June 2025. The feat which was possible through the industry-wide security interventions led by the NNPC.

    “Ojulari’s tireless efforts led to the prompt payment of cash call obligations by the NNPC. Unlike in the past were NNPC’s Joint Venture partners complain of non-payment by their senior partner, today, the IOCs can close their eyes knowing that in NNPC, they have a reliable partner that will keep its own side of the contract.

    “It is also not a secret today that the Ojulari-led management has revamped governance and procurement processes at the NNPC, saving the company billions of naira in potential losses.

    “He has aso instituted a data-driven framework for contract awards and auditing, effectively blocking several channels previously exploited for financial recklessness.”

    Nwambu, the Director-General of the Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens’ Awareness (CCLCA), lamented what he described as the unrelenting attacks and surge in negative media coverage against NNPC Ltd and its senior management.

    He said the attacks, carefully orchestrated and coordinated by faceless groups and individuals with nefarious intentions, were, to say the least, most unfortunate.

    He said: “The frightening part of this dangerous development is that these negative campaigns do not look like they will stop anytime soon.

    Today, it is Bayo Ojulari, the Group CEO, tomorrow, it is Dapo Segun, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the next day, it is Udy Ntia, the Executive Vice President (EVP} Upstream.

    “The evil forces appeared to be unrelenting in their quest to bring the company and its management to their knees.

    “The NNPC Limited and its Management have seen enough: from sponsored media attacks to frivolous lawsuits, even staged protests from rented crowd based on nothing but the imaginations of the purveyors of fake news, the critics keep coming in droves.

    “Apparently, some folks, both within and without are not happy with the direction the NNPC is going and would stop at nothing to derail the process of making NNPC work for all.

    “To think that some Nigerians are behind these mischievous allegations in the media, is just serendipitous.

    The purveyors of these acts are probably oblivious of the immense damage they are doing to a company which should be our collective national treasure.

    “This is a company that could best be described as the goose that lays the golden egg. This is a company that is about to be listed on the stock exchange!.”

    He also said: “But one might ask: what do they stand to gain by making these potentially damaging allegations towards one of Nigeria’s major brands and institutions?

    What is their benefit if the National Oil Company goes down as a result of their cynical opinions which seem to keep discerning investors away? Where is their patriotism? Where is the national pride and where lies their conscience?

    “Instead of resorting to media trial of the NNPC and its Management, why won’t these individuals and groups utilise legal option to prove their cases?

    These traducers, in their myopic view, always think NNPC, led by Bashir Bayo Ojulari is the problem of Nigeria.

    “Again, these critics, in their warped thinking and imagination, believe they or their paymasters can do better, in case they are asked to steer the ship of a Company that is gradually fighting its age-long demons and gradually coming back to life.

    “The NNPC Management, especially under Ojulari’s stewardship, has never shied away from its many challenges.

    If anything, it has always been seen to face the challenges headlong. And the result of that confrontation has seen the company’s fortunes, growing in leaps and bounds.

    “A saying goes that “critics are like eunuchs in a harem, they have seen it done times without number, but they can never do it themselves.”

    The NNPC critics fall in this category, because they have, many at times, been witnesses to how the Company, turbo-charged by the new legislative chest of the Petroleum industry Act (PIA) is gradually transforming into a world-class commercial entity of choice. Sadly, like the eunuchs, these onwatching cynics can never do it themselves.

    “Fact is whether they like it or not, the NNPC reforms are like a moving train that can never be stopped. Mr. President did not make a mistake by nominating the current NNPC Management.

    And from their performance so far, it is evident before everyone’s eyes that this is indeed a team driven by technical acumen, eagle-eyed attention to details, and unrelenting desire to rewrite the oil and gas playbook in Nigeria.

    “As partners in the Nigerian Project, our coalition therefore calls on these detractors to support the Bayo Ojulari led management team for the good work it is doing at the NNPC.

    The group admonished those they called “traducers” to allow the new Management at the NNPC turn around the fortunes of the company for the better and set Nigeria on the enviable path of greatness.”

  • Missing N210trn: NNPCL to respond to senate query in 3 weeks

    The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has given Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) three weeks to respond to queries raised against it.

    The queries against the NNPCL were in connection with audit reports of 2017 to 2023, alleging unaccountability of N210 trillion.

    The committee, chaired by Sen. Ahmed Wadada, insisted that the amount in question was neither stolen nor missing but yet to be accounted for.

    The three-week window for explanations was given to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, after accepting his apology for past failed appearances before it.

    Ojulari had, after his apology to the committee, explained to its members that for satisfactory response from him on the 19 queries raised, he needed more time to dig into the technicalities and perspectives of the issues raised.

    “I’m just over 100 days in the office as the GCEO of NNPCL. I Still need time to do further digging, given the perspectives I have heard now into the issues.

    “This is coming in the midst of a huge national assignment, your explanation now changes my perspective about the issues.

    “I need to understand the issues myself so I can respond appropriately. Will get a team and please get the details properly reconciled so we can work to provide answers to the queries.

    “In doing this, I will surely engage the external auditors and other relevant groups,” he said.

    Though he requested for four weeks, the committee granted him three weeks which, according to it, is enough for the response expected from NNPCL.

    Explaining the nitty-gritty of the queries to the NNPCL GCEO, Wadada said that the N210 trillion unaccounted for was broadly in two components of N103 trillion liabilities and N107 trillion assets which, he said, must be accounted for.

    “There is none out of the 18 or 19 questions we have on NNPCL from us as a committee, neither did it come from the executive or the judiciary.

    “They are questions extracted from the audited financial statement of the NNPCL by the auditor-general covering 2017 to 2023.

    “Also, this committee had not, at any time, said the N210 trillion in question, as far as the queries are concerned, was stolen or missing.

    “What the committee is doing is required investigation on queries raised in the report, in line with its constitutional mandate.

    “Therefore, the committee is giving NNPCL three weeks to forward written responses to it on all the 19 queries, after which the GCEO will be invited along with other management staff for physical appearance and defence,” he said.

    NAN reports that before the ruling of the chairman, virtually all members of the committee had spoken on the seriousness of the issues at stake, but expressed optimism that the GCEO would clear the air on those issues.

    Sen. Victor Umeh (Anambra) said: “We are happy to have you because we have been waiting for you.

    “One thing that must be stated clearly is that we need transparency and NNPCL is in possession of Nigeria’s economic prosperity.”

    Sen. Babangida Hussaini (Jigawa), in his comments, said there was the need for the NNPCL management team to look into the issues raised since governance is a continuum.

    “The issues are germane and critical,” he said.

    Another member of the committee, Sen. Tony Nwoye (Anambra), said: “It is very important and germane to give them (NNPCL) fair hearing. Maybe the audited report is not correct.”