Human Rights Group Lauds NNPC CEO Bayo Ojulari For Record Crude Production And Strategic Governance Reforms

NNPC CEO Bayo Ojulari receives praise for hitting a 36-year crude production high and implementing transparent governance reforms since April 2025.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 30, 2026, 6:12 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Peoples Gazette

A Milestone in National Oil Production

The People’s Wellbeing Association, an Abuja-based human rights and advocacy organization, has publicly endorsed the administrative reforms of Bayo Ojulari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. In a statement released on Monday, the group’s spokesperson, Mr. Abba Abubakar, revealed that the company’s upstream subsidiary has reached a daily crude oil production level of 355,000 barrels. This figure represents the highest output recorded by the subsidiary since 1989, effectively ending a 36-year slump. Abubakar noted that this surge in production has provided a critical boost to Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and overall national output performance.

Restoring Transparency to Corporate Governance

According to the advocacy group, one of the most significant achievements under Ojulari’s tenure is the return to regular financial disclosure. After years of opaque operations, the NNPC has reinstated the publication of monthly operational and financial performance reports. This move is seen as a major step toward commercial discipline and accountability, allowing stakeholders to track the company’s progress in real-time. Abubakar emphasized that Ojulari has remained steadfast in these transparency efforts despite facing significant pushback from various "oil thieves" and interest groups who have historically benefited from the company’s lack of oversight.

Structural Overhaul and Compliance Frameworks

The reform agenda led by Ojulari has also introduced modern governance structures, including updated Delegation of Authority and Delegation of Financial Authority frameworks. These systems are designed to streamline decision-making while ensuring that every transaction is subject to internal audit and accountability standards. To further fortify these efforts, the NNPC has established new Chief Compliance and Chief Sustainability offices. Abubakar argued that these institutional changes have placed the national oil company on a sustainable path toward global excellence, moving it away from the inefficiencies that characterized its previous iterations.