The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has firmly denied claims that President Bola Tinubu or Wale Tinubu, CEO of Oando Plc, has any stake in the acquisition of OVH Energy by the NNPC. This clarification was made in response to accusations from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as relayed by his media adviser, Paul Ibe.
In his statement, Atiku alleged a “criminal hijack of the NNPC by corporate cabals” linked to President Tinubu. He claimed that the retention of Mele Kyari as the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC was a form of compensation for an alleged acquisition deal involving NNPC Retail Ltd and OVH, in which he asserted Wale Tinubu holds a 49% stake. Atiku further insinuated that this transaction was part of a broader strategy by President Tinubu to embed his business interests within Nigeria’s public enterprises.
Responding to these allegations, NNPC’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, clarified that the company’s investment decisions are driven solely by commercial viability and national interest. He emphasized that at the time of NNPC’s acquisition of OVH in 2022, Oando, where Wale Tinubu had a stake, had already divested its equity in OVH to its partners, Vitol and Helios.
“Oando began its divestment process in 2016, with Vitol and Helios subsequently becoming equity partners, resulting in the rebranding from Oando to OVH. By 2019, Oando had fully divested its interest in OVH, leaving Vitol and Helios with equal stakes,” Soneye explained.
He further detailed that upon NNPC’s acquisition of OVH, both NNPC Retail Ltd and OVH became subsidiaries of NNPC Ltd. After careful consideration, NNPC decided to merge NNPC Retail Ltd into OVH, with plans to rename the merged entity as NNPC Retail Ltd post-merger, a process currently underway.
Soneye categorically stated, “Contrary to the false claims, neither Wale Tinubu nor President Tinubu has any interest in the OVH acquisition.”
He also criticized Atiku, noting that, as a businessman, he should recognize that the success of business leadership is better judged by financial performance rather than unsubstantiated claims. Soneye highlighted NNPC’s strong performance under Kyari’s leadership, citing the company’s N3.3 trillion profit after tax in the 2023 Audited Financial Statement as evidence.
“NNPC Ltd operates as a commercial entity free from political influence and remains committed to national interest and value creation for all stakeholders. The company will resist any efforts to drag its board and management into partisan politics,” Soneye concluded.
