|By Adejumo Adekunle-
-NNPCL Accuses Syndicate of Plotting Media Attacks Amid Audit Scandal
–Says Smear Campaign Aims to Undermine Reforms and Distract Public from Real Progress
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has accused an unnamed syndicate of orchestrating a smear campaign to derail its ongoing reforms and discredit its leadership.
The accusation came on the heels of a 10-day ultimatum issued by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts to the company’s leadership, demanding clarification over a N210 billion discrepancy discovered in the company’s audited financial statements.
Reacting in a strongly worded statement on Friday, Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, alleged that the company had uncovered a coordinated campaign of calumny aimed at misleading the public and destabilising the reforms spearheaded under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s anti-corruption agenda.
“Their tactics include planting scandalous and fabricated reports, curated to distract leadership, mislead the public, and undermine the commitment of our dedicated workforce and reform-minded Nigerians,” the statement read.
Ojulari described the saboteurs as individuals and groups threatened by transparency and accountability, who are bent on blocking the transformation of Nigeria’s foremost energy institution.
“These are calculated efforts by those who feel threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change—clear evidence of the lengths to which they will go to obstruct the transformation of NNPCL,” the statement added.
“We expect a surge of defamatory content in the days and weeks ahead.”
In addition to the Senate probe, NNPCL has faced public scrutiny over the sudden shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refinery on May 24, 2025, just months after its much-publicised rehabilitation.
While no official explanation has been offered for the closure, concerns have mounted over the refinery’s operational sustainability and the transparency surrounding its maintenance contracts.
Ojulari, however, maintained that NNPCL remains committed to openness, efficiency, and reform, and would not be derailed by “media manipulations and false narratives.”
