By our reporter
Bashir Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), is facing renewed criticism after it was revealed he chartered private jets for a recent trip to Brazil. This comes just two months after a controversial and costly retreat in Kigali, Rwanda, where the entire Marriott Hotel was reportedly booked for NNPCL executives.
The Rwanda trip involved at least five private jets and was allegedly coordinated by Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, a businessman linked to oil bloc allocations and under investigation for money laundering. The same individual is believed to have helped arrange the Brazil travel.
These luxury trips are drawing public outrage at a time when the Nigerian Senate is probing the NNPCL over trillions of naira in financial discrepancies. Civil society groups have also demanded accountability over missing funds and the continued shutdown of national refineries.
Further controversy surrounds Ojulari following allegations that he facilitated a $1.5 million bribe to President Tinubu’s security aides through Bashir-Haske to gain access to the presidency.
The growing number of allegations and instances of lavish spending by NNPCL leadership has deepened public distrust and raised fresh calls for transparency, investigation, and reform within Nigeria’s oil sector.
