BY NONYE JULIET
Abuja
A pro-democracy organisation, the Coalition for Good Governance (CGG), has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Nigerians to disregard what it described as a smear campaign against the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari.
The group said its review of the campaign showed that it was not based on facts or performance but on vested interests attempting to reassert influence in the oil and gas sector.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja and signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Olaniyi Olawale, the CGG said the reforms being implemented under Mr. Ojulari were already yielding results in transparency, accountability and investor confidence.
According to the group, “the path of progress, accountability, and modernization being championed by Mr. Bayo Ojulari must not be derailed by fabricated conspiracies or cabal-driven propaganda.”
The group appealed to President Tinubu to sustain his support for Ojulari, whom it said had shown “visionary and results-oriented leadership in line with the President’s energy sector reform blueprint.”
The statement listed Ojulari’s achievements to include operational repositioning to cut leakages, enforcing global best practices in governance and compliance, boosting investor confidence, and aligning NNPCL’s policies with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
It added that falsehoods ranging from alleged political collusion to frivolous claims of business ties were being circulated to pressure the Presidency into making hasty decisions that could undermine reform efforts.
“Yielding to such antics would not only embolden mediocrity but also risk eroding investor trust, particularly among foreign investors and International Oil Companies who closely monitor Nigeria’s energy governance landscape,” the group said.
The coalition cautioned that reversing the ongoing reforms could damage Nigeria’s image in the global energy market and weaken the credibility of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
