NNPC raises alarm over sabotage campaign targeting leadership, reforms

Mkpoikana Udoma

Port Harcourt — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPC Ltd., has raised alarm over what it describes as a coordinated campaign of sabotage aimed at discrediting its leadership and undermining its transformation into a performance-driven, corruption-free energy enterprise.

In a statement issued on Friday, NNPC Ltd. said it had uncovered a syndicate of both internal and external actors orchestrating “a campaign of lies, misinformation, and media manipulation” designed to derail the company’s reform agenda.

“This group is actively spreading lies and misinformation simply to discredit NNPC Ltd.’s leadership and derail the organisation’s ongoing transformation into a corruption-free, performance-driven energy company, in line with the mandate of His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the company stated.

Describing the attacks as “calculated efforts by those who feel threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change,” NNPC Ltd. warned that the campaign would likely intensify in the coming weeks with an uptick in defamatory content and fabricated reports targeted at its leadership.

“Their tactics include planting scandalous and fabricated reports, curated to distract leadership, mislead the public, and undermine the commitment of our dedicated workforce and reform-minded Nigerians,” the statement read.

While the company did not name individuals involved in the alleged campaign, it pointed to the involvement of “known and faceless actors, both outside and within various levels of the organisation.”

NNPC, which was officially commercialised under the Petroleum Industry Act and incorporated in 2021, has in recent months undertaken structural reforms aimed at improving transparency, revenue remittance, and operational efficiency. These moves have attracted both commendation and resistance from entrenched interests.

Despite the attacks, the company’s management affirmed its resolve to stay the course. “NNPC Ltd. remains undeterred. The transformation is underway, and no amount of sabotage will stop it.”

The company urged its staff, partners, and the general public not to be distracted by the emerging campaign of calumny, but to remain committed to the ongoing reforms.

“We urge our dedicated staff, stakeholders, and all patriotic Nigerians to stay focused, ignore the noise and not be discouraged. We remain on mission.”

The latest development underscores the difficult terrain of reforming Nigeria’s state-owned enterprises, especially in a sector as politically and economically sensitive as oil and gas.