By Adewale Sanyaolu
The atmosphere at the Corporate Headquarter’s of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd-NNPC Towers in Abuja is currently charged over uncertainty surrounding what becomes the fate of its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr.Bayo Ojulari, over allegations of reckless spending and funding the opposition party through a crony
An online news platform had on Sunday reported that Ojulari was forced to resign in controversial circumstances, a claim that has been denied in some quarters.
President Bola Tinubu, had on April 2, 2025 appointed Mr. Bayo Ojulari, a former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production (SNEPCO), Limited as the GCEO of NNPC Ltd following the sack of the erstwhile management led by Mr. Mele Kyari.
But, four months into the saddle of leadership at NNPC Ltd, all appears not to be well as series of allegations have been leveled against the GCEO.
It was alleged that Ojulari since assuming office, rather than cut cost has been living an extravagant lifestyle, thus putting a strain on the finances of the state oil company.
“Since assuming office just over three months ago, Ojulari has not boarded a single commercial flight. Instead, the state oil company boss has indulged in a jet-set lifestyle more befitting a billionaire playboy than the head of a struggling national energy corporation.
Less than two weeks into his role, Ojulari reportedly jetted off to Paris aboard a private aircraft, accompanied From Paris, the jet roared off to London where Ojulari met the President—an early glimpse into the GCEO’s taste for flamboyance,”. A source said.
The source claimed that while the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (oil), Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, flew British Airways to Vienna for a seminar organised by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the NNPC Boss went to the same venue in far away Austria in a chartered private jet.
“Yet perhaps the most galling display came in July, when Ojulari flew to Vienna, Austria aboard another private jet to attend the International OPEC Seminar. While Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum flew on British Airways, Ojulari’s journey reportedly cost NNPCL close to $1 million,” .
Earlier in May, while Nigeria’s oil output plummeted and NNPCL’s operational struggles mounted, Ojulari was said to have been spotted in Bologna, Italy on yet another private visit.
But the gallivanting lifestyle didn’t end there as sources confirmed a luxury detour to Monaco to attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix, sipping rare champagne while Nigeria’s refineries remained comatose.
Weeks later, the extravagance reached a crescendo. To mark his 60th birthday, Ojulari reportedly chartered two private jets to Dubai, turning the desert city into a lavish playground. One of the jets, according to insiders, ferried in “his ladies”, while a fountain of Dom Pérignon, single malt whiskies, and vintage cognac flowed throughout the weekend. “It was like a royal coronation,” said a source present at the party.
“Imported chefs, luxury hotels, Rolexes exchanged as party souvenirs, this man lives like oil wells are buried in his backyard.”
However, the last straw that broke the camel’s back is the reported link of Ojulari to Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, the founder and Group Managing Director of AA&R, who is married to the daughter of Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice-President.
Bashir-Haske, Atiku’s son-in-law, reportedly enjoyed regular NNPC patronage when Maikanti Baru was NNPC Chief Executive from 2016 to 2019. Baru died in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.
Kyari, who was the Group General Manager of the crude oil marketing division of the national oil company, succeeded Baru.
When he took over the reins, Kyari was reportedly unhappy with Bashir-Haske and subsequently cut him off from NNPC patronage.
Bashir-Haske, however, continued to do business with Ojulari, who was operating in the oil sector in various capacities, notably as MD of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and later as founder/chairman of BAT Advisory & Energy Company Nigeria Ltd.
BAT Advisory & Energy advised Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited in its $2 billion takeover of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).
Following his appointment as NNPC GCEO in April, Ojulari restored all the privileges Bashir-Haske had been denied by Kyari.
Some of the transactions between NNPC and Bashir-Haske were flagged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), sources told TheCable.
The anti-graft body has questioned Bashir-Haske, accusing him of orchestrating “large-scale money laundering through sophisticated financial structures”.
There are now allegations that NNPC was, perhaps inadvertently, funding the opposition through him.
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