The high-stakes drama in Nigeria’s oil industry has taken a dangerous turn, as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, declared that he and members of his management team are facing threats to their lives.
Speaking during a meeting with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Ojulari revealed that entrenched interests resisting his reform agenda have escalated their opposition from media blackmail to outright threats.
“These attacks are not about me personally,” insiders quoted him as saying, “they are about resisting President Bola Tinubu’s directive to clean up the rot in the sector.”
The Reform Battle: Refineries and Resistance
Ojulari’s mandate, handed down in April 2025, is nothing short of transformative: revive Nigeria’s three moribund refineries, attract investors, and prepare the NNPCL for a landmark IPO. But instead of applause, his decision to halt refinery test runs at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna has triggered accusations of sabotage and corruption.
Critics allege that shutting down the facilities created opportunities for fresh contracts worth billions, while others accuse him of plotting privatization schemes to benefit cronies. The backlash has been fierce, culminating in protests, ethnic demands for leadership change, and now threats to his safety.
Civil Society Rallies Behind Ojulari
While some unions and youth groups have demanded his removal, civil society organizations are standing firmly in his corner. The Coalition for Good Governance and Change Initiatives (CGGCI) and HURIWA dismissed the allegations as “blackmail and corruption fighting back.”
HOSTCOM, the umbrella body for oil-producing communities, went further, claiming that the coordinated attacks are orchestrated by displaced power brokers unwilling to surrender illicit earnings.
Supporters also point to Ojulari’s early wins, including a record N6.961 trillion remittance to the Federation Account and drastic reductions in oil theft, which he credited to tighter military and intelligence collaboration.
Management Blames ‘Sabotage Campaign’
In a strongly worded statement, NNPCL management described the opposition as a deliberate sabotage campaign, accusing vested interests of planting fabricated stories in the media to distract leadership and derail reforms. “No amount of defamation will stop this transformation,” the company insisted.
Protests Rock NNPC Towers
Tensions came to a head when Niger Delta youth leaders stormed NNPC Towers in Abuja, calling for Ojulari’s removal and demanding that a native of the region be appointed as the company’s boss. The protest highlighted not only the ethnic fault lines but also the political intensity surrounding the oil sector reforms.
The Bigger Picture
When President Tinubu appointed Ojulari and installed Ahmadu Musa Kida as NNPCL board chairman, the vision was clear: raise oil output to 2–3 million barrels per day, rebuild investor trust, and end decades of waste. The early signs—especially near-eradication of pipeline theft—suggest the reforms are biting.
But as Ojulari’s revelation shows, reform in Nigeria’s oil industry comes at a cost—sometimes personal.
The battle now raging inside the NNPCL is more than a corporate dispute. It is a fight for control of Nigeria’s economic lifeline, one that pits transparency against corruption, reform against resistance, and the safety of reformers against the fury of vested interests.
