Business

NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes

Published

7 months ago

August 16, 2025

In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”

When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.

A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.

These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.

The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.

We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.

Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.

Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.

Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.

Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.

His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.

As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.

Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.

Business

Tinubu Government Approves Rollout Of Electric Vehicles In Nigeria Amid Fuel Crisis, Power Failure

Published

12 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Olumide Ojo

Earlier, the country’s Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, apologised about the state of electricity, stating that some of the issues that led to the blackout were beyond government control.

Despite Nigerians lamenting constant electricity blackout, the Bola Tinubu-led administration has announced introduction of “electric vehicles in the country.”

Earlier, the country’s Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, apologised about the state of electricity, stating that some of the issues that led to the blackout were beyond government control.

Nigeria has also experienced serial grid collapses that has consistently thrown Nigeria into endless blackouts.

Amid these challenges and issues facing decent electricity available, President Bola Tinubu has approved the expansion of the mandate of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (PiCNG); the initiative will now be known as the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (PiCNG & EV), reflecting its broadened scope to include both gas-powered and electric mobility solutions.

The directive was conveyed in a statement issued on Thursday , March 26, 2026, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

With the approval, PiCNG & EV is expected to “lead and coordinate Nigeria’s clean mobility strategy, covering gas-driven vehicles and Electric Vehicles nationwide.”

According to the statement, the initiative will continue to drive the deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure, including “Mother and Daughter Stations, Integrated Refuelling Units, CNG vehicles and equipment, and nationwide conversion programmes.”

It will also “anchor the development and rollout of electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, and related investments nationwide.”

The presidency noted that gas remains “a competitive and strategic fuel for transportation,” leveraging Nigeria’s abundant natural resources to reduce costs, enhance energy security, and conserve foreign exchange.

It added that “the inclusion of electric vehicles further strengthens the government’s agenda for affordable, efficient, and environmentally responsible mobility.”

President Tinubu has also directed the Executive Chairman of PiCNG & EV to “immediately establish a coordinated process for the rapid deployment of vehicle conversion kits across the country” and ensure that the kits are accessible to Nigerians “at a cost that is not burdensome.”

To achieve this, the initiative will collaborate with CreditCorp Nigeria, financial institutions, and other relevant partners to design cost-effective financing structures that will make vehicle conversions widely accessible.

The President further directed “the accelerated deployment of Mobile Refuelling Units (MRUs) to expand access to CNG while permanent infrastructure continues to scale.”

-Sahara

Business

Sterling Bank Charts Way Forward for Nigeria’s Transport, Logistics Sector

Published

15 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Olumide Ojo

Lagos, Nigeria, Industry leaders, policymakers, financiers, and innovators convened in Lagos today for the inaugural Nigeria Transport & Logistics Summit (NTLS) 2026, hosted by Sterling Bank at Eko Hotel & Suites, to forge actionable strategies for building a faster, more connected Nigeria through transport, mobility, and logistics.

Held under the theme “Funding the Engine of Growth,” the summit positioned Nigeria’s transport and logistics sector as a critical but under-leveraged driver of productivity, regional integration, and economic growth. Transport, mobility, and logistics collectively form the backbone of the Nigerian economy, yet chronic underinvestment, infrastructure deficits, and limited access to financing have long constrained its potential.

Transport, mobility, and logistics collectively form the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. While the logistics sub-sector alone contributes approximately ₦1 trillion to national GDP, experts estimate that the broader transport and logistics market exceeds ₦15 trillion in potential value. Yet persistent infrastructure gaps, inefficiencies, financing constraints, and policy fragmentation continue to limit the sector’s full impact.

NTLS 2026 brought together senior government officials, regulators, infrastructure operators, investors, development partners, and private sector leaders to address critical priorities including multimodal connectivity, airport and road modernization, energy-efficient mobility, digital trade facilitation, and innovative financing frameworks.

Speaking at the summit, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, represented by Sterling One Foundation CEO, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, called for urgent, coordinated action to fix the systems that move Nigeria’s economy forward.

He emphasized that while Nigeria’s transport and logistics challenges, ranging from port congestion to inefficient corridors and high operating costs, are well documented the real opportunity lies in effective execution.

“We must move beyond diagnosing the problem to building integrated, modern logistics systems that can power productivity at scale. This means fixing our ports, strengthening logistics corridors, improving road and rail connectivity, and embedding efficiency across the value chain.”

“Nigeria’s competitiveness, both regionally and globally will increasingly depend on how effectively we move goods, people, and services. The time for incremental change has passed; what is required now is bold, coordinated execution across public and private sectors,” Abubakar concluded.

Also speaking at the event, the Divisional Head, Renewable Energy, Mobility and Tourism at Sterling Bank, Mr. Darlington Nwankwo, described logistics as the backbone of trade, industry, and national competitiveness.

He noted that while the sector contributes just under four percent to Nigeria’s GDP, estimated at approximately ₦15trillion, its true economic impact is significantly larger when viewed as an enabler of productivity across agriculture, manufacturing, and trade.

“We must be deliberate about fixing the logistics backbone of the economy if we are to unlock the growth we need. Nigeria’s trade competitiveness is directly linked to the efficiency of its logistics corridors, from ports to inland distribution networks.”

“At Sterling, we see our role as connecting capital to execution, designing financing solutions that do not just fund infrastructure but unlock entire value chains. This includes supporting multimodal transport systems, enabling cleaner mobility solutions, and partnering with both government and private sector players to reduce investment risk. The opportunity before us is not just to fix what is broken, but to build a logistics ecosystem that is faster, more efficient, and globally competitive.”

Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi, echoed the call for bold ideas, strategic investments, and forward-looking policies, describing the summit as a vital platform to shape the future of movement, trade, and connectivity in Nigeria. He urged policymakers to move swiftly from planning to implementation, called on investors to support infrastructure and innovation, and encouraged industry leaders to champion efficiency, sustainability, and accountability.

In his keynote address, Professor Biodun Adedipe grounded these ambitions in hard realities, noting that with nearly 90 percent of Nigeria’s logistics dependent on road transport, the country faces mounting congestion and maintenance costs that demand diversification into rail and more durable infrastructure. He cautioned that economic transformation requires patience, with meaningful results unlikely to materialise in under 18 months.

Panel discussions throughout the day focused on reducing logistics costs, strengthening aviation and road integration, modernizing downstream energy distribution, and accelerating the adoption of cleaner and more sustainable mobility solutions.

The summit concluded with a call for sustained public-private collaboration, stronger regulatory coordination, and the creation of structured financing vehicles to de-risk infrastructure investments.

As Nigeria seeks to strengthen its regional trade position and unlock non-oil export growth, NTLS 2026 marks a decisive step toward building a more integrated, resilient, and globally competitive transport and logistics ecosystem.

About Sterling Bank

Sterling Bank Limited is a full-service national commercial bank in Nigeria and a member of Sterling Financial Holdings Group. With a heritage of more than 60 years, the bank has evolved from Nigeria’s pre-eminent investment banking institution to a trusted provider of retail, commercial, and corporate banking services.

Sterling is a forward-thinking financial institution committed to transforming lives through innovative solutions, exceptional service, unwavering integrity, and a steadfast focus on its HEART strategy, which centers on Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Transportation. As pioneers in digital banking and financial inclusion, Sterling continues to lead by example, showing how purpose-driven leadership can deliver transformative outcomes for individuals, businesses, and society at large.

Guided by a culture of innovation and a passion for excellence, Sterling Bank remains dedicated to redefining the banking experience for millions of customers across Nigeria.

Business

Polaris Bank Positions Gender Equity as Growth Strategy at IWD 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Olumide Ojo

Polaris Bank has reinforced its commitment to deepen gender equity as a business and growth imperative during its 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD) event, spotlighting sustained investments in women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, and leadership development. In line with this year’s theme, “Give to Gain,” highlighting a call to action for accelerating gender equality through generosity, collaboration,and investment in women. The speakers emphasized intentional contribution as a catalyst for collective progress.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO, Kayode Lawal, underscored the strategic value of the theme, “Gender Equity as a Business Imperative: The Give to Gain Advantage.” He noted that investing in women delivers measurable returns for institutions and economies alike.

According to Lawal, empowering women remains a core pillar of Polaris Bank’s long-term strategy, reflected in its support for women-led businesses through targeted financing, enterprise advisory and capacity-building initiatives.

The Polaris CEO also highlighted the Bank’s sustained advocacy in breast cancer advocacy and screening and early detection, as well as its contributions to girl-child education and inclusive workplace policies.

He added that the Bank’s flagship proposition, *Polaris Pearl*, continues to provide tailored financial solutions and growth platforms for women professionals and entrepreneurs. He called for more deliberate action across sectors, stressing that inclusive systems ultimately drive stronger institutions and societies.

Delivering keynote insights, Tomi Somefun, the immediate past MD/CEO of Unity Bank described gender equity as a critical lever for organizational performance, urging institutions to move beyond rhetoric to structured action.

She emphasized that enabling women to contribute fully is not a social obligation but a pathway to better decision-making, innovation, and long-term resilience.

Also speaking, Belinda Nkechi Indinmachi, a social entrepreneur challenged the GenZs to adopt a more strategic approach to value creation, noting that purposeful contribution and long-term thinking are essential for sustainable career and business growth. She encouraged professionals to view “giving” as an investment that yields tangible returns over time.

In her remarks, Polaris Bank’s Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking, Abimbola Ozomah, reiterated that the Bank’s focus on women empowerment extends beyond symbolic observance. She noted that initiatives such as the Polaris Women Connect platform are deliberately designed to prepare female professionals for leadership through mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and exposure to industry leaders.

Earlier, Bukola Oluyadi, Group Head, Customer Experience & Value Management, set the tone for the engagement, highlighting the importance of collaboration and intentional support systems in driving collective success.

The event also showcased Polaris Bank’s measurable impact in advancing women’s economic participation, including the disbursement of over ₦1 billion in funding to female entrepreneurs, alongside continued investments in financial literacy and enterprise development.

Polaris Bank reaffirmed that its commitment to empowering women remains anchored on deliberate action and inclusive growth strategies that position women as key drivers of economic transformation.

Photo caption:

L-R; Belinda Nkechi Idinmachi, Entrepreneurship Specialist, ALX Founder Academy; Subulade Giwa-Amu, Non- Executive Director, Polaris Bank; Kayode Lawal, Managing Director/CEO, Polaris Bank; Tomi Somefun, Former Managing Director /CEO for Unity Bank Plc, & Abimbola Ozomah, Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking during the International Women’s Day celebration in Lagos recently.