The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL) has tackled former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over allegation, accusing President Bola Tinubu of mortgaging Nigeria’s future to family and friends, and hijacking the NNPC to cabals around him.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 Presidential election, said the President had interest in the acquisition of NNPC Retail Ltd by OVH where Wale Tinubu, his relation, had 49 per cent stake.
However, Iin a statement titled; “OVH Acquisition: The Facts, by NNPC Ltd,” Mr. Olufemi Soneye, the company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, picked holes in Atiku’s insinuation on “the criminal hijack of the NNPC by corporate cabals around the current President.”
In Soneye’s words: “He (Atiku) was also quoted to have listed the retention of Mr. Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd as a compensation for the alleged acquisition of NNPC Retail Ltd by OVH in which he claimed Mr Wale Tinubu held 49% stake.
“He further alleged that the NNPC Retail Ltd–OVH acquisition deal was part of a grand scheme by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to integrate his personal business interests into Nigeria’s public enterprises at the federal level.
“NNPC Ltd wishes to set the records straight with the following facts: We are a commercially-focused and profit-driven company managed by professionals who are committed to adding value to the nation. Investment decisions by NNPC Ltd Management are strictly determined on the basis of commercial viability and national interest.”