The gates of Nestoil’s Lagos headquarters were sealed last Tuesday, police cars flashing outside a once-bustling tower of energy ambition. Inside, the air of crisis was thick, though the company’s message to the public was calm: all is well.
A Federal High Court had ordered the takeover of Nestoil Limited and its affiliate, Neconde Energy, following a billion-dollar debt dispute with FBNQuestMerchant Bank and First Trustees. Justice D. I. Dipeolu’s ruling authorised the seizure of assets worth more than $1 billion and N430 billion. It was a corporate jolt that echoed far beyond Lagos.
By afternoon, Nestoil’s statement was circulating: the matter, it said, is purely commercial, before competent courts, and under control. Its Corporate Communications Department insisted that all operations remain active across oil, gas, power, and infrastructure projects. “Our business continues without disruption,” the Group assured.
Being steady, almost soothing, the company’s tone was deliberate. For a firm that built its reputation over three decades as a symbol of indigenous engineering success, reassurance has become its own strategy. Nestoil described its engagement with lenders as “constructive,” projecting confidence in a fair resolution that preserves its legacy of compliance and resilience.
Its founder, Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi, who was named among those affected by the order, has faced crises before. Nestoil’s rise through Nigeria’s volatile oil economy required precisely the kind of patience it now preaches: stay calm, trust the process, keep the rigs running.
Still, the symbolism is striking. Police outside a flagship energy company suggest weakness in an industry built on scale and leverage. Yet Nestoil’s statement ends in the same composure with which it began. “We remain financially strong and strategically focused,” it declared, calling for restraint and verified reporting.
Perhaps the real performance lies not in the courtroom or the newsroom, but in the steadiness of tone. In Nigeria’s oil patch, confidence is currency. And for now, Nestoil speaks the language fluently.
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