The new leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, led by Bayo Ojulari, has raised the alarm that some saboteurs within and outside the organisation are working against efforts to transform the company into a corruption-free one.

Recall that Ojulari took over from Mele Kyari, who was removed by President Bola Tinubu as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC on April 2.

In a statement signed by the management on Friday, the new leadership disclosed that it had uncovered an emerging coordinated sabotage campaign being waged by a syndicate of known and faceless actors, both outside and within various levels of the organisation.

According to the statement, the actors were actively spreading lies and misinformation to discredit the new leadership and derail the organisation’s ongoing transformation into a corruption-free and performance-driven energy company.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has uncovered an emerging coordinated sabotage campaign being waged by a syndicate of known and faceless actors, both outside and within various levels of the organisation.

“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 statement read partly.

It was disclosed that the tactics of the said individuals include planting scandalous and fabricated reports to distract the leadership and mislead the public.

The statement described the steps as calculated efforts by those said to be threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change.

“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.

“These are calculated efforts by those who feel threatened by reform, transparency, accountability, and change—clear evidence of the lengths to which they will go to obstruct the transformation of Nigeria’s foremost energy institution,” the NNPC leadership stated.

However, the new NNPC board stated that it expected a surge of defamatory content soon, but no amount of sabotage would deter the ongoing reforms within the company.

“We expect a surge of defamatory content in the days and weeks ahead. NNPC Ltd remains undeterred. The transformation is underway, and no amount of sabotage will stop it.

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

The NNPC has yet to name a new spokesman after the resignation of Olufemi Soneye on Saturday.