The Itsekiri Progressive Youth Movement (IPYM) has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and other security agencies to urgently investigate reported threats against Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Media reports revealed that, while addressing a delegation from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, Ojulari claimed that his life was under threat from powerful interests resisting the reforms he has 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.
However, in a statement jointly signed by its National Chairman, Comrade Jerry Atiene, and General Secretary, Honourable Romeo Ogedegbe, the IPYM warned that both the threats and the recent protest in Abuja demanding Ojulari’s removal must be treated with utmost seriousness.
“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.
The group described the protest as a clear case of “corruption fighting back” and encouraged Ojulari to stay committed to his mission of transforming NNPCL into a profit-driven company while working towards the rehabilitation of the country’s four dormant refineries.
