The Itsekiri Progressive Youth Movement (IPYM) has urged the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and other security agencies to investigate alleged threats to the life of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari.

Ojulari, speaking at the NNPC Towers in Abuja while receiving a delegation from the Petroleum & Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), alleged that his life was in danger due to resistance from powerful interests opposed to reforms he introduced in the oil and gas sector.

“We are under attack. We will not succumb to short-term pressure, as that would not serve the best interests of Nigerians. You cannot drive change without paying a price, and transformation is always tough,” he said.

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In a statement signed by its National Chairman, Comrade Jerry Atiene, and General Secretary, Honourable Romeo Ogedegbe, the IPYM said the threats and the recent protest in Abuja calling for Ojulari’s removal should not be taken lightly.

“We were deeply troubled when the NNPCL boss disclosed that his life and those of the company’s management team were being threatened. Security agencies must act immediately to unmask those behind the threats and blackmail,” the group said.

Describing the protest as “corruption fighting back,” the group urged Ojulari to remain focused on making NNPCL profit-oriented and reviving the nation’s four moribund refineries.

It also appealed to Nigerians to give his management more time to deliver reforms for national development.