The Situation Room on Positive Reforms has described the reported resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Mr. Bashir Ojulari as fake and malicious.
The group alleged this in a statement its Executive Secretary, Dr Collins Atawodi released, in which it said the report of Ojulari’s resignation making the rounds was allegedly a deliberate attempt to destabilize Nigeria’s energy sector and undermine the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The report is a calculated plot to disrupt Nigeria’s energy supply, potentially triggering fuel shortages, reintroducing fuel queues, and inciting widespread unrest,” the statement reads.
It said that the NNPCL boss has been a blessing to the company, crediting him with bringing about reforms in the nation’s refineries and recovering of revenue previously tied up by questionable deals with international oil companies (IOCs).
“These successes, the group suggests, may have provoked the wave of false accusations aimed at discrediting him.
“This malicious lie is the work of enemies of President Tinubu, who are desperate to discredit his administration and halt the progress of recent reforms,” said Dr. Collins Atawodi.
Atawodi added: “Mr. Ojulari’s refusal to engage in corrupt practices and his commitment to transparency in managing oil revenue have made him a target of those who profited from the mismanagement of NNPCL in the past.
“Allowing his traducers to succeed would set Nigeria back and reduce NNPCL to a drain on resources.
“Those opposing Mr. Ojulari’s reforms will do everything to protect their illicit financial flows, but they have no right to halt Nigeria’s progress.”
