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NNPCL Denies Presidential Interference, Says Appointments Based On Merit

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that President Bola Tinubu does not interfere in its operations, or influence movements within it.

NNPCL argued that: โ€œEmployment, promotions, appointments, and movements of business leaders at the NNPC are not influenced by ethnicity, tribe, religion, or political affiliation.โ€

Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, stated these in a statement issued yesterday in response to the article, โ€œTinubuโ€™s Buharisation of the NNPCโ€ authored by Prof. Farooq Kperogi.

According to him, decisions within the NNPCL โ€œare guided strictly by merit, business requirements, and expertise.โ€

Kperogi had in his article criticised what he called โ€œTinubuโ€™s relentless Yorubacentric take-over of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC)โ€ alleging that โ€œYoruba people now occupy major positions at the NNPC and that a certain (person) is โ€˜being proposed as GMD after Mele Kyariโ€™s term expires early next year.โ€

But Soneye in a statement said Kperogiโ€™s article was full of misconceptions about the operations and leadership structure of the company.

He explained that NNPCL focused on efficient and effective service delivery, anchored on the commitment of qualified work team.

He also clarified that that President Tinubu did not interfere in the operations or leadership movements within the NNPC.

โ€œOn the contrary, his administration has introduced transformative policies that have added immense value to the oil and gas sector and the broader Nigerian economy.

โ€œPresident Tinubuโ€™s approach has been to empower institutions like the NNPC to operate independently while fostering a conducive environment for growth and innovation. His reforms have set a benchmark that has significantly improved the sector, surpassing the achievements of many of his predecessors,โ€ he said.

The NNPC spokesman emphasized that the company is a professional organisation with a diverse leadership lineup that includes individuals from various parts of the world, not just Nigeria.

โ€œThe presence of qualified foreigners in the employ of the NNPC, who have been bolstering the value chain of production and distribution of allied products, is verifiable.

โ€œIt is, thus, sad that a professor of Mr Kperogiโ€™s standing would resort to and play up the issue of ethnic identities in the configuration of the work team in NNPC just to demonise President Tinubu,โ€ he said.

He stated that under the leadership of Mele Kyari, the NNPCL has achieved remarkable milestones and recorded several โ€œfirstsโ€ in the industry.

โ€œThese milestones were not defined, coloured or contoured by primordial fault-lines of tribe and religion. They were inspired by the collective drive for excellence. These milestones include groundbreaking advancements in exploration, production, and global partnerships that were previously thought unattainable. This success is a testament to the companyโ€™s focus on competence and professionalism rather than on parochialism as insinuated in the editorial offerings by Mr. Kperogi,โ€ he said.