Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has rejected demands for the dismissal of its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission chief executive Meyiwa Eyesan, defending both officials against allegations linked to the country’s oil-sector performance and licensing practices.
Key takeaways
- The Oil and Gas Professionals Forum urged President Bola Tinubu to remove Ojulari and Eyesan over alleged sector failures and questionable oil transactions.
- The group claimed that associates of Ojulari, including one of his wives, received advantageous blocks in the latest licensing exercise.
- NNPCL said the NUPRC alone has legal responsibility for oil-block allocations under the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021.
- The company reported April crude output of 1.67 million barrels per day, up from 1.60 million bpd a year earlier.
- NNPCL said it may pursue legal or other measures against what it considers false or unsupported allegations.
NNPCL rejects licensing allegations
In a statement posted on X on Saturday, NNPCL spokesperson Andy Odeh defended the two executives and responded to the campaign against them.
The Oil and Gas Professionals Forum, convened by Ayodele Momoh, had demanded their removal, citing persistent weakness in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, disputed deals and contracts, and concerns over the process used to award oil blocks.
The organisation focused particular attention on the NUPRC’s recently completed licensing round. It alleged that Ojulari had used his influence to help friends and associates obtain oil blocks. The exercise produced 31 successful companies, while 37 blocks put up for allocation were ultimately awarded.
OGPF further claimed that people close to Ojulari, including one of his wives, obtained favourable blocks through insider access. In a statement dated August 2, 2026, the group called for Ojulari to leave his position at NNPCL and for Eyesan to be removed from the NUPRC.
Responding to those accusations, NNPCL set out its role in the licensing process. The company said the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 assigns responsibility for organising licensing rounds and distributing oil blocks to the NUPRC.
NNPCL said its status since incorporation has been purely commercial and that it does not possess powers to regulate the industry or allocate acreage.
Production and gas figures
On output, NNPCL reported that crude production, including condensates, reached 1.67 million barrels per day in April 2026. It said that represented a 6% increase from 1.60 million bpd in 2025, or roughly 80,000 additional barrels each day, with the figures published in its publicly available monthly performance report.
The state-owned company also reported a 5% rise in gas production, giving a figure of 7,354 million standard cubic feet per day, compared with 7,729 mmscfd previously.
NNPCL said it retained the option to take appropriate action to defend the reputation of the company and its leadership against claims it considers false or lacking substantiation.
