- He was subsequently pressured to sign a resignation letter at a clandestine rendezvous by Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the anti-graft EFCC, and Adeola Ajayi, director-general of the Department Security Service
The head of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, has allegedly been forced to step down in what appears to be a calculated move by certain vested interests and power brokers in the current administration to remove him from his position.
According to Peoples Gazette, Ojulari was abducted on Friday by a combined team of security operatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Security.
Ojulari was said to have been seized on the orders of President Bola Tinubu’s secret lover, Olatimbo Ayinde, in an operation national security and law enforcement sources said was reminiscent of Nigeria’s draconian military era.
He was subsequently compelled to sign a resignation letter at a clandestine location by Ola Olukoyede, chairman of anti-graft EFCC, and Adeola Ajayi, director-general of the Department Security Service.
Sources in both agencies said President Bola Tinubu was not aware of the Gestapo and coup-like operation.
Ojulari was said to have been interrogated about what he might know of Ayinde, a British-Nigerian oil businesswoman, who has recently emerged as one of the most powerful forces steering the Tinubu administration.
“Mr Ojulari told us he didn’t know Olatimbo Ayinde,” an official said under anonymity to disclose the matter to The Gazette. “He also said he heard she was trying to control businesses at NNPC and he rejected such moves.”
Ayinde, long known in business circles for her sharp and underhanded business dealings, was charged in the United Kingdom for bribing two former Nigerian oil ministers.
The Gazette reported on Thursday that anti-graft operatives were ordered to slowwalk and frustrate a request for evidence from British prosecutors for use in their ongoing trial of Ms Ayinde.
Ojulari was appointed in early April by Mr Tinubu, with the Nigerian president saying the decision was largely due to Mr Ojulari’s expertise in hydrocarbon as a former Shell executive in Nigeria.