Exclusive: From Extravagance To Subversion: Embattled NNPCL GCEO Bayo Ojulari Caught in Secret London Meeting With Fugitive Haske
The embattled Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, is once again at the center of controversy after reports surfaced that he secretly met with fugitive businessman Abdullahi Bashir Heske in Central London. Heske was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on August 21 for money laundering and criminal conspiracy.
The clandestine meeting, which sources describe as a strategy session, was allegedly aimed at building a formidable front to resist EFCC investigations and frustrate ongoing efforts to indict both men. For a man already battling a credibility crisis, Ojulari’s actions are being viewed as nothing short of subversive and reckless.
This latest scandal comes against the backdrop of Ojulari’s well-documented excesses since assuming office at NNPCL. Within weeks of his appointment, he was exposed for:
Doubling his salary by 100 percent, and backdating it to collect arrears for months he hadn’t been paid.
Chartering five private jets for his very first board meeting.
Flying family and friends on private jets to Dubai for his 60th birthday celebration, at a time when Nigerians were grappling with crushing poverty and inflation.
Flying private jets to Monaco to watch the Formula One Car race.
Critics argue that Ojulari’s pattern of insensitivity, extravagance, and self-interest has now morphed into outright sabotage of government anti-corruption efforts.
In his desperation to cling to power, Ojulari has reportedly reached out to influential Nigerians, including his longtime ally Ademola Bero, Nigeria’s OPEC representative, to beg President Bola Tinubu for forgiveness. Sources allege he has been spending thousands of dollars lobbying power brokers, with many “cashing out” on his vulnerability.
Among his new protectors is the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, to whom Ojulari reportedly gives daily updates while dangling promises of lucrative deals in NNPCL. The minister’s son, notorious for extracting money from heads of agencies under his father’s ministry, has allegedly been boasting about juicy contracts in NNPCL, further fueling suspicion of collusion.
Ojulari, en route to Milan, Italy, to attend the annual Gas Tech Conference, accompanied by selected members of the company’s board, even as reports indicate ongoing friction between him and several of the directors.
Notably, Ojulari is said to have excluded the Group Chief Operating Officer (GCOO) from the high-profile event, leaving him behind in Abuja despite the strategic importance of the conference. The move has fueled further speculation of widening cracks within NNPCL’s leadership at a time when the company is facing mounting scrutiny and pressure to deliver results. For observers, Ojulari’s trajectory tells a disturbing story: from a man tasked with reforming Nigeria’s most strategic company, he has quickly become a symbol of its rot. His extravagance, poor judgment, and willingness to undermine the very government that appointed him now leave NNPCL, and the Nigerian people on the edge of yet another trust cr
