Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Bayo Ojulari, has broken his silence on social media reports that Adegboyega Fasasi and Usman Shugaba, Chief Security Officer (CSO) and Chief Personal Security Officer (CPSO) respectively to President Bola Tinubu accepted a $1.5 million bribe from him to facilitate access to the President.
Ojulari described the bribe report as “false, ludicrous, malicious, and existing only in the imagination of the authors of the gibberish.”
Speaking to select journalists Monday in Abuja, Ojulari said he was “scandalized and at the same time amused by the report” which he said was the handiwork of “those who do not mean well for Nigeria.”
Said the GCEO, “My initial reaction when i sighted the report was that of disbelief. Not only are the allegations wicked, wild and spurious, they were clearly the handiwork who do not mean well for Nigeria.
“It is clear that the authors do not understand what $1.5 million is. It is a calculated smear campaign intended to mislead the public and cast doubt on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s leadership,” he stated.
“It is important to emphasize that the sensational claims attributed to anonymous sources have not been supported by any shred of evidence. As NNPCL GCEO, I, Bayo Ojulari do not need the permission of security details to contact Mr. President whenever I so desire.
He continued, “My consolation is that the blog or website that published the fake news has a long history of publishing stories that exist only in their imagination. They are not known for publishing credible reports.”
On if he would take legal action on the publishers of the bribe report, Ojulari said he was still speaking with his lawyers.
“I am speaking with my lawyers, and we are exploring the options before us. Clearly, Nigeria is a country with laws. You can’t just go around, hiding under the pillar of freedom of speech, and writing fiction. No! There has to be consequences for such actions,” he said.
SaharaReporters had on Sunday published a story purporting that Ojulari paid $1.5 million in bribes to two security aides of President Tinubu to grant him access to the president.
