By; Peace Udugba.
A socio-political advocacy group, Force For Good Governance (FGG), has strongly dismissed media reports alleging that the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, bribed close aides of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to secure access to the President.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Dr. Shedrack Ogbonna, on Sunday in Lagos, the group described the allegations as “entirely false, fabricated, and a figment of the imagination of those behind them.”
According to FGG, the claims circulating in certain media circles are not only spurious and unsubstantiated, but also a deliberate attempt to malign the character of a man whose contributions to Nigeria’s energy sector have been both credible and impactful.
Mr. Ojulari is a seasoned professional with a longstanding record of integrity, service, and transparency. To suggest that he bribed his way to meet the President is not only malicious, it is laughable,” the statement read.
The group alleged that the smear campaign was the handiwork of “cowardly detractors threatened by competence and progress.”
These are the tactics of shadowy figures who seek to pull down what they cannot control or understand. Let it be clearly understood: there are no hidden waters in this matter. Mr. Ojulari’s engagements with government officials have always followed due process and national interest,” FGG asserted.
FGG further warned those behind the allegations to retract immediately or face legal consequences.
We are already in consultation with legal experts. Anyone found promoting or distributing these defamatory claims will be held accountable under Nigeria’s cybercrime and defamation laws. The era of fake news going unchallenged is over,” the group said.
Expressing full solidarity with the embattled NNPCL GMD, the group vowed not to remain silent while his name is “dragged through the mud for political convenience or personal vendetta.”
“Enough is enough,” the statement concluded.
