President Bola Tinubu has been asked to terminate the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari over alleged award of a ₦5.7 billion consultancy contract without due process, transparency, or justification.
The development was made known in an open letter to Nigerians signed by Musa Abdullahi for the Coalition of Nigerian Patriots for Good Governance, supported by Civil Society Organisations, Concerned Workers, and Transparency Advocates on 26 June, 2025.
The Coalition faulted the new leadership of Mr. Bayo Ojulari, for engaging in what it called reckless, unconscionable spending of public resources without due process, while urging President Tinubu to immediately sack the NNPCL Chief and for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to swiftly launch investigation into the ₦5.7 billion consultancy contract scandal.
The letter also warned that the aim of the current leadership of the NNPCL is to kill the Corporation as several top principled staff have started resigning their position with many other professionals planning to tow the same path.
The Coalition also revealed plans to hold a 2-day advocacy march on the July 1 and 2, 2025, to press home their demands and urged Nigerians to join them.
Here are some of the demands: “That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should immediately sack Mr. Bayo Ojulari as Group CEO of NNPCL.
ⁿWe want to state that Ojulari’s plan is to kill NNPCL because we want to authoritatively state that so many Top Principled NNPCL staffs like Chief Operating Officer, Spokesman and others have started resigning . So many professionals plan to leave the NNPCL for Ojulari.
“The EFCC launches a full-scale investigation into the ₦5.7 billion consultancy contract awarded to HASKE, including company ownership, bank trails, and project deliverables.
“All estacodes and travel expenses paid for the Kigali retreat be refunded to the national treasury within 14 days.
“The National Assembly sets up a public hearing to investigate NNPCL’s opaque contract practices and rising culture of financial recklessness.
“Corporate governance frameworks at NNPCL be reviewed, and violators prosecuted under anti-corruption laws.”
The letter reads in full:
OPEN LETTER TO NIGERIANS: THE ₦5.7 BILLION CONSULTANCY FRAUD, LAVISH NNPCL RETREATS AND THE URGENT NEED FOR PRESIDENT TINUBU TO SACK BAYO OJULARI
Dear Fellow Nigerians,
We write to you today with a sense of urgency and righteous indignation over an unfolding scandal that strikes at the very heart of accountability and good governance in Nigeria.
At a time when over 200 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty, when inflation has soared, and when the government pleads for patience as painful reforms unfold, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), under the new leadership of Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has engaged in reckless, unconscionable spending of public resources.
THE ₦5.7 BILLION CONSULTANCY SCANDAL: A LOOT IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
Recent investigations have revealed that NNPCL secretly awarded a ₦5.7 billion consultancy contract to a little-known and controversial firm called HASKE, without due process, transparency, or justification. HASKE has long been associated with opaque deals, political patronage, and backchannel contracts. The company has no verifiable record of delivering high-level consultancy services, nor does it possess the industry reputation or technical competence required for such a contract.
So, why was this firm handpicked?
Sources confirm the deal was not advertised, not subjected to competitive bidding, and was not scrutinized by relevant oversight bodies. This is not just a violation of public procurement laws—it is a calculated looting of Nigeria’s oil wealth.
₦5.7 billion—nearly $4 million at today’s rates—was signed away behind closed doors while hospitals go without equipment, schools lack basic infrastructure, and millions cannot afford a single meal a day.
What could ₦5.7 billion do instead?
Build or equip 570 Primary Health Care Centres across rural Nigeria.
Fund scholarships for over 50,000 indigent Nigerian students.
Construct 114 kilometres of rural roads to support agriculture and commerce.
Provide capital to over 10,000 young entrepreneurs to reduce unemployment.
Yet this same sum was funneled into a phantom consultancy deal, benefiting no one but the insiders and cronies.
A CEO GONE ROGUE: LAVISH RETREATS & ABUSE OF POWER
As if this was not enough, Mr. Bayo Ojulari—Group CEO of NNPCL—flew to Kigali, Rwanda in a chartered fleet of five private jets, accompanied by other executives, for a so-called management retreat. Lavish estacodes were paid, luxury hotels were booked, and top officials returned with fat pockets and zero accountability.
Ojulari reportedly pocketed millions in estacodes alone for this trip, all while ordinary Nigerians are being told to “tighten their belts.” Even more disturbing is that staff within NNPCL describe him as high-handed, arrogant, and feared, openly boasting of his closeness to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, using that proximity as a shield against scrutiny.
THIS IS A NATIONAL DISGRACE—AND AN INSULT TO THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE
How did we arrive at a point where public institutions serve personal greed rather than public good? Why is the Group CEO of our national oil company flying in private jets while Nigerians queue endlessly for fuel, grapple with blackouts, and drown under high food prices?
The answers are simple: impunity, entitlement, and lack of political will to punish the powerful.
We, the Nigerian people, say enough is enough.
OUR DEMANDS
We demand that:
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu immediately sacks Mr. Bayo Ojulari as Group CEO of NNPCL.
- We want to state that Ojulari’s plan is to kill NNPCL because we want to authoritatively state that so many Top Principled NNPCL staffs like Chief Operating Officer, Spokesman and others have started resigning . So many professionals plan to leave the NNPCL for Ojulari.
- The EFCC launches a full-scale investigation into the ₦5.7 billion consultancy contract awarded to HASKE, including company ownership, bank trails, and project deliverables.
- All estacodes and travel expenses paid for the Kigali retreat be refunded to the national treasury within 14 days.
- The National Assembly sets up a public hearing to investigate NNPCL’s opaque contract practices and rising culture of financial recklessness.
- Corporate governance frameworks at NNPCL be reviewed, and violators prosecuted under anti-corruption laws.
If the Tinubu administration is truly committed to the Renewed Hope Agenda (which we know he is), then men like Ojulari cannot be allowed to trample on the hopes of millions.
TO THE PRESIDENT: THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW
Mr. President, Nigerians entrusted you with their mandate to fix this country, not to watch it be further looted by powerful insiders. Keeping Bayo Ojulari in office sends a dangerous message—that corruption still has a seat at the table under your leadership.
Show Nigerians you are not captive to vested interests. Act decisively. Act now.
ADVOCACY MARCH
We have scheduled a 2 days advocacy march to press home our demand which is scheduled for 1st – 2nd July, 2025. We enjoin other Civil Society Organisations, Media and the Nigerian Public to join us in this advocacy march. No one should be allowed to loot our common patrimony again.
This letter is not a whisper. It is a roar.
We will not be silent.
We will not forget.
We will not let this pass.
