Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, has broken his silence on report doing rounds on social media 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.
The NNPC boss described the report as “false, ludicrous, malicious, and existing only in the imagination of the authors of the gibberish.”
Addressing newsmen on Monday in Abuja, Ojulari said he was “scandalised and at the same time amused by the report” which he said was the handiwork of “those who do not mean well for Nigeria.”
Ojulari said he was still speaking with his lawyers to explore legal action against the publisher, stating that there should be consequences for such actions.
ALSO READ: Oyo govt tasks employees on dedication to duty, punctuality
The GCEO said: “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 of persons 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”.
“It is important to emphasise that the sensational claims attributed to anonymous sources have not been supported by any shred of evidence. As NNPC GCEO, I, Bayo Ojulari do not need the permission of security details to contact Mr. President, whenever I so desire.
“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.
“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.
It be recalled that 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.
