NNPC Cries Sabotage, Alleges Coordinated Plot Against Reforms

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has alleged the existence of a coordinated sabotage campaign aimed at discrediting its leadership and derailing ongoing reforms within the organisation.

In a statement issued on Friday, the state-owned oil company accused both internal and external actors—some named, others faceless—of spreading deliberate falsehoods and misinformation to stall its transition into a transparent, performance-driven energy corporation.

“These campaigns are being orchestrated by individuals who feel threatened by the ongoing reforms, transparency drive, and efforts to instill accountability,” the company said. It warned that defamatory attacks targeting senior executives are likely to escalate in the coming weeks.

NNPC claimed the saboteurs have been planting sensational and fabricated stories to mislead the public, distract management, and demoralize staff. The campaign, it argued, is designed to weaken support for President Bola Tinubu’s mandate to overhaul the national oil giant.

Though the company did not name specific perpetrators, it described the situation as a deliberate ploy to resist the momentum of change. Since being restructured into a limited liability company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act in 2021 through the Petroleum Industry Act, NNPC has intensified efforts to eliminate corruption and legacy debt, promote transparency, and adopt commercial best practices.

Analysts believe entrenched interests in oil swap deals, pipeline security contracts, and petroleum product marketing chains—sectors long associated with corruption—have been most unsettled by the reforms.

Despite anticipating the emerging smear campaign, NNPC stressed that it remains focused on its objectives and urged employees and stakeholders to ignore the distractions.

The company did not disclose any plans for legal action against the alleged actors behind the campaign, and efforts to obtain further clarification from NNPC officials were unsuccessful.

Internally, the company is expected to strengthen its communications and security systems to shield staff from the spread of disinformation.

With reform efforts intensifying, civil society groups and the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) are also expected to scrutinize both the claims of sabotage and NNPC’s response to the situation.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to transformation, concluding, “No amount of sabotage will stop it.”