2
Innocent Oweh
The Group Chief Executive Officer, GCEO, of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, has opened up on recent controversies trailing his appointment as Boss of the national oil firm, by President Bola Tinubu.
According to Ojulari, his sins for which his job is facing serious threats is that he is proposing far reaching reforms, especially overhauling the Portharcourt and Warri refineries to make them more viable again.
Recall that some civil society groups staged a protest at the headquarters of the NNPCL on Wednesday, where they called for his sack. Ojulari was also purportedly arrested by the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over some impropriety in the management of the oil firm.
He hinged his latest travails on some powerful elements plotting to remove him from the seat at all cost.
Ojulari opened up, when he received the delegation of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, led by its President, Comrade Festus Osifo at the company’s headquarters, Abuja on Thursday.
DAILY INDEPENDENT also recalls that Ojulari while attending Energy and Labour summit organised by PENGASSAN last week in Abuja, hinted that he would revive the ailing refineries to make them operational and profitable.
He revealed that part of the overhaul plans may involve partnership with “a professional refinery company,” to find a viable solution to the refining crisis in Nigeria.
He noted that the move to partner was reached at the end of a commercial review carried out on the Porth Harcourt Refinery.
He said a technical review had initially been concluded for the three refineries.
Reacting to comments made by the PENGASSAN President on the stability of the NNPCL and stability in the oil sector, he said despite the threats to his life and the lives of some management staff, he is determined to ensure that the refineries work effectively.
Ojulari regretted that the reforms have created discomfort among some stakeholders who feel threatened by the changes which had propelled them to embark on a campaign to remove him from his seat.
He said: “I’m not hiding to anybody, I have made it clear, I’m not a politician. I will have to learn a bit more about politics, but it’s a development plan for me, right? And I’m ready to learn.
“In the journey to that learning, you can imagine there will be a lot of bumps, and there will be a lot of challenges. I think that’s the part that I need to work on, and I’m working on it.
“What I know for sure, biblically, for those of us who read the Bible, there are some that do other religions, we’ll talk about those ones later. But even those ones too, you cannot drive change without a price, it’s not possible. And the moment you decide not to pay those price, you become crooked like the Meandering River. There has to be a price.
“Just think about it. Read the Bible. There’s nobody who has attempted to do and change that does not have to pay a price. The only prayer is that let it not be the ultimate price of my life. And I think that’s what we’re seeing. That’s the challenge we’re seeing.
“And the transformation is quite tough. I can understand why a number of people also feel threatened, not because we as a new leadership team or management team want to threaten, but in order to drive the kind of change that we’re talking about, there’s no way that some other people will not be at some short-term loss. The long term will be better for everybody, but not everybody is patient for that.