The convener of the Oil & Gas Professionals Forum, Ayodele Momoh, has alleged that two oil blocks from Nigeria’s recent licensing round were awarded to friends of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari.
Momoh made the claim while responding to NNPCL’s recent statement defending Ojulari against allegations surrounding the award of oil blocks.
The NNPCL had dismissed claims of wrongdoing and highlighted the company’s production performance under Ojulari’s leadership.
However, Momoh maintained that the company’s response failed to address the concerns raised by his group over the transparency of the latest marginal field licensing exercise.
According to him, 31 companies emerged as successful bidders for 37 oil blocks, with at least two of the successful beneficiaries allegedly having close relationships with Ojulari.
He also alleged that Ojulari’s wife, who works with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, played a significant role in the bid evaluation process.
Momoh further claimed that one of the beneficiaries had previously received a Funding and Technical Services Agreement from NNPCL under Ojulari’s leadership.
He argued that the alleged connections deserved scrutiny, particularly because of the potential conflict of interest involved in the evaluation and award of the oil blocks.
The forum also questioned NNPCL’s emphasis on production growth as a defence of Ojulari’s performance.
Momoh said reported increases in oil and gas output were not enough to resolve the governance and accountability questions surrounding the licensing process.
He noted that NNPCL had reported a six per cent increase in oil production and a five per cent rise in gas production between April 2025 and August 2026.
According to him, the reported progress remained inadequate when compared with the company’s stated ambition of raising oil production to three million barrels per day within two years.
Momoh therefore called for the concerns surrounding the oil block awards to be addressed directly, rather than being overshadowed by NNPCL’s production figures.
