A group, the Concerned Northern Forum (CNF), has dismissed allegations of lopsided recruitment and suspension of oil exploration activities in Northern Nigeria by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.
The Convener of the forum, Mr Aliyu Muhammad, stated this at a news conference on Sunday in Kaduna.
Muhammad alleged that reports linking recent staff appointments in NNPC with the exit of some employees were intended to fuel ethnic division and misinform the public.
He maintained that NNPC Ltd. remained a national institution whose operations should not be viewed from ethnic or regional perspectives.
According to him, the company has not carried out any recent recruitment or appointment of senior management staff.
“The appointments being referenced were concluded in the third quarter of 2025 and were publicly announced at the time.
“It is misleading to associate that exercise with the Employee Exit Scheme that took effect on June 30, 2026, as both are separate corporate processes,” he said.
Muhammad said the 2025 recruitment followed a competitive and merit-based process approved by the company’s board to fill critical vacancies in line with its workforce requirements.
He added that some of the individuals mentioned in reports critical of the exercise had joined the company before the current management assumed office.
The CNF also dismissed claims that NNPC Ltd. had suspended frontier oil exploration projects in Northern Nigeria.
Muhammad explained that under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), funding responsibility for frontier exploration rests with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), while NNPC Ltd. implements approved directives and collaborates with relevant stakeholders.
He said the company remained committed to the Kolmani Integrated Development Project and other frontier basin initiatives in the North.
The forum urged Nigerians to support national institutions and avoid narratives capable of promoting division.
Muhammad also commended President Bola Tinubu for reforms aimed at strengthening the commercial operations and accountability of NNPC Ltd.
He urged members of the public to verify information through official channels and avoid spreading unverified reports.
Source: NAN
