…Engr. Jade Olukosi likens NNPC leadership to a car driving without a navigation system and warns of a looming systemic collapse.
Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is drifting dangerously toward instability, weighed down by corruption allegations, regulatory breakdowns and what industry experts describe as a crippling leadership vacuum at the very top of the sector.
The alarm was amplified following a formal petition by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, accusing the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, of serious misconduct. The petition marks a decisive escalation from public criticism to a demand for official investigation, raising fresh concerns about the integrity of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory system.
Dangote’s allegations have sent shockwaves through the energy industry, with claims of regulatory compromise, rent seeking and deliberate obstruction within the downstream sector. Critics argue that such conduct, if proven, directly undermines fair competition, investor confidence and the very spirit of the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, which was enacted to sanitise regulation and depoliticise oversight.
Industry observers say the controversy is especially damaging because it strikes at the heart of the PIA’s credibility. With the head of a key regulatory agency now facing an anti corruption petition, confidence in Nigeria’s reformed petroleum governance framework is under severe strain.
Adding to the turmoil is mounting criticism of the leadership of NNPC Limited under its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari. According to Engr. Jade Olukosi, a petroleum engineer and industry analyst, the weakness of leadership at NNPC has left Nigeria’s oil sector fragile and directionless.
The current NNPC leadership is like a car driving without a navigation system, Olukosi said. There is movement, but no clear direction. That is why the oil sector is dwindling and increasingly unstable.
Despite NNPC’s transition into a commercial entity under the PIA, analysts argue that the national oil company has failed to provide strategic clarity, assert authority or act as a stabilising force amid rising tensions between regulators and industry operators. Instead, NNPC is widely perceived as detached, allowing regulatory conflicts and uncertainty to fester.
Experts warn that the combination of a regulator under corruption scrutiny and a national oil company seen as lacking firm leadership is pushing Nigeria’s oil and gas industry toward systemic distress. Production remains fragile, domestic supply challenges persist and investor confidence continues to erode.
Calls are now growing for the immediate removal of the leadership of both the NMDPRA and NNPC, alongside a thorough and transparent investigation into the allegations raised. Stakeholders insist that decisive federal intervention is urgently needed to restore accountability, reinforce governance standards and stabilise the sector.
For an economy still heavily dependent on oil revenues, the warning signs are stark. Without swift corrective action, analysts caution that Nigeria’s oil industry risks sliding deeper into dysfunction, with serious consequences for national revenue, energy security and overall economic stability.
