The Association of Energy Policy and Development Consultants (AEPDC) has withdrawn its earlier call for the removal of Bayo Ojulari as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), saying further investigations showed that its initial assessment was based on incomplete information.
AEPDC National President, Dr Ibrahim Danjuma, announced the reversal at a press conference in Kaduna on Friday after the association reviewed additional documents and consulted industry stakeholders.
The association had previously called for Ojulari’s resignation, citing concerns over NNPCL’s financial management, particularly energy-security expenditure, pipeline protection costs and other financial claims.
Danjuma said AEPDC’s subsequent review examined NNPCL’s financial disclosures, the legal framework governing its energy-security responsibilities, under-recovery mechanisms, claims against the Federation and the circumstances surrounding the expenditure under scrutiny.
According to the association, the review produced a substantially different picture from the one that informed its initial criticism. It said the large sums associated with energy-security spending should not, on their own, be treated as unexplained expenditure without considering NNPCL’s statutory responsibilities, its role as an energy supplier of last resort, petroleum pricing interventions and exchange-rate movements.
AEPDC also said NNPCL’s financial disclosures contained explanations that could be independently scrutinised. Danjuma subsequently described the association’s earlier characterisation of NNPCL’s financial management as opaque as unfair and apologised to Ojulari and the company’s management.
The association has now withdrawn its demand for Ojulari’s resignation and reaffirmed confidence in his leadership. However, it stressed that the reversal was not a retreat from accountability and maintained its support for legislative and independent scrutiny of NNPCL’s finances.
AEPDC urged NNPCL to continue publishing comprehensive financial statements and provide clearer explanations for major expenditures. It also called for stronger systems to independently verify and report energy-security costs, saying greater documentation would help reduce conflicting interpretations of the company’s financial obligations.
For investors and participants in Nigeria’s energy sector, the reversal removes AEPDC’s earlier demand for a change in NNPCL’s leadership, while leaving the company’s financial disclosures and energy-security spending under continued scrutiny. The association’s call for further independent and legislative review means transparency, expenditure reporting and NNPCL’s operational and financial performance will remain important areas to monitor.
The development adds another turn to the debate over NNPCL’s financial management, with AEPDC now urging stakeholders to assess the company’s figures in their broader legal and operational context rather than drawing conclusions from isolated expenditure figures.
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