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NUPENG, PENGASSAN Resist External NNPC Appointments

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NUPENG

 By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited Group Executive Council (GEC) have expressed concerns over the recent filling of top management position with externally recruited personnel.

President Bola Tinubu last Tuesday sacked the entire 11-person board of the NNPC and replaced the chief executive, Mr Mele Kyari with a former Shell executive, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari.

Mr Ojulari previously served as Managing Director of Shell’s Nigeria deepwater exploration and production unit. He was most recently chief operating officer of Renaissance Africa Energy, the consortium that bought Shell’s Nigeria onshore division.

The new board will be led by Mr Ahmadu Musa Kida, a former Total executive.

On Friday, the NNPC announced the appointment of a new 8-man senior management team. The company said the appointments takes immediate effect.

In a letter, addressed to the NNPC Chief Human Resources Officer, NUPENG and PENGASSAN said they cannot accept or support the recruitment of senior and management staff from outside the company.

The letter, titled Filling of top management positions in NNPC Limited with externally recruited personnel is unacceptable to PENGASSAN and NUPENG GEC, was signed by GEC Secretary at PENGASSAN, Ms Amaoge Chukwudi; its chairman, Mr Solomon Orieji; and the GEC Secretary at NUPENG, Mr Paulosa Paulosa and its chairman, Mr Baba Kaumi.

The letter was also sent to the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Executive Vice President (EVP) Business Services, of the state-oil company.

“We extend our warm congratulations to the newly appointed Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Board Members of NNPC Limited. We wish them success in their new roles and pray for excellence in their assignments.

“However, we must draw urgent attention to a matter of serious concern to avert avoidable consequences. Based on past experiences, we have observed a recurring trend whenever a new GCEO is appointed externally – the temptation to fill top management positions with external recruitment rather than promoting staff members from within NNPC Ltd.

“As a matter of caution, we must state clearly that we cannot accept, accommodate, or support the recruitment of senior and Management staff from outside NNPC Limited and that any plan in such direction be stopped immediately,” the letter reads.

It said NNPC Limited is home to thousands of experienced, competent, and dedicated Nigerian professionals across various fields.

They argued that these individuals, who include their members, have dedicated quality years to sustaining the legacies of the company and are eager to take on higher responsibilities.

“Denying them career advancement opportunities and overlooking them in favor of external recruitment is grossly unjust and wasteful, and it will also disrupt the company’s steady progress towards greater profitability and efficiency.

“We must therefore caution against any unjust action that undermines the career growth of deserving staff members of our company. If this warning is ignored, we cannot guarantee the continuation of industrial harmony within NNPC Limited.”

Therefore, they said the letter serves to put the management and the Board of NNPC Limited on notice that PENGASSAN and NUPENG categorically reject any recruitment or appointment of senior or management staff above the SS6 cadre (specifically within the SS5 to M2 cadre) from outside the organisation.

“Any attempt to do so will be met with strong resistance, including a total shutdown of operations. Please accept our assurances of continued support and regards,” the letter read.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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NDIC Seeks EFCC Enhanced Support on Asset Tracing, Recovery

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Alpha Merchant Bank NDIC

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has sought an enhanced collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in areas including asset tracing, recovery, and management.

This was hinged on a recent visit by the chief executive of the corporation, Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, to the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Ola Olukoyede.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Sunday stressed that the visit offered an opportunity for formal engagement with the EFCC for further collaboration between the two organizations.

“We aim to further strengthen our collaboration, deepen institutional synergy and explore additional avenues for mutual support in the pursuit of national financial system stability. The EFCC has been our partner and we want this to continue. We look forward to an expanded and more impactful partnership between our two esteemed institutions,” Mr Sunday said.

Further in his request, he stated that the NDIC sought to leverage on the EFCC’s technical expertise in asset tracing, recovery and management, particularly in cases involving debtors of banks in liquidation.

“Your experience has and will continue to greatly enhance our recovery efforts. Additionally, we have that strategic responsibility for prosecuting individuals whose actions contribute to the failure of banks. We therefore seek closer collaboration with the Commission in this critical area.”

On his part, Mr Olukoyede, remarked that both agencies of government have a longstanding record of collaboration, pledged to amplify the working relationship.

He emphasized that the NDIC and EFCC are like inseparable twins, working together for years. He reminded the NDIC’s boss that the EFCC had been supporting his agency in the area of investigation, while the NDIC had been supporting the EFCC in the area of training.

“So, there has been this mutually beneficial relationship between NDIC and EFCC and we never intend to stop. We’ll continue to take it to a higher level, and continue to strengthen it,” he said.

Mr Olukoyede reiterated that his policy directive was to stimulate the Nigerian economy with the anti-graft war, leverage productive entities and enhance the capacities of other government agencies through needful interventions.

“One of the things I promised when I resumed was to use the instrumentality of this work to stimulate the economy, not just to make noise all over the place; to strengthen and encourage the internal processes of entities that are doing well and design fraud risk assessment for them. That was what necessitated my establishing a new department called Fraud Risk Assessment and Control.

“We don’t have to always wait for money to be stolen. Let us work with you and stakeholders in the economy to fine tune our system and make sure that we clean our financial ecosystem. You’re a key player in that area, and we are always willing to collaborate with you,” he added.

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Again, Nigeria’s Electricity Grid Collapses, Triggers Nationwide Blackout

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Electricity Subsidy Q1 2024

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed again on Tuesday morning, cutting power supply nationwide after generation and load allocation dropped to zero across all distribution companies,.

The incident marks the second recorded collapse of the national power grid in 2026, the second as well in five days following last Friday’s inclident.

This also means the third time in one month after a similar failure on December 29, 2025.

The system failure occurred at about 10:50 a.m, when electricity allocation to all electricity distribution companies fell to zero. Data from the grid operator showed that power generation plunged to zero megawatts, triggering a total shutdown of supply across the country.

A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all distribution companies, including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola, recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage.

All 23 power generation plants connected to the national grid reportedly lost output during the incident, resulting in zero power allocation to each of the 11 electricity distribution companies.

As of time of filing this report, no official confirmation has been provided by the government authorities.

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Military Confirms Attempt to Overthrow Tinubu, to Arraign Coup Plotters

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Tinubu address nation

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Nigerian military on Monday, January 26, 2026, confirmed that some of its personnel actually attempted to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu in October 2025.

It was earlier speculated that the October 1 parade last year was abruptly cancelled due to an alleged attempt to remove Mr Tinubu from office by some members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), with 16 persons arrested over the issue.

Providing an update on the matter today, the Director of Information for the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Major General Samaila Uba, said investigations have “identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government” and would be “formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial.”

“It would be recalled that the  Defence Headquarters issued a press statement in October 2025 regarding the arrest of sixteen officers over acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations. The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) wishes to inform the general public that investigations into the matter have been concluded and the report forwarded to appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.

“The comprehensive investigation process, conducted in accordance with established military procedures, has carefully examined all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel. The findings have identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government which is inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the AFN.

“Accordingly, those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations. This ensures accountability while upholding the principles of fairness and due process.

“The AFN reiterates that measures being taken are purely disciplinary and part of ongoing institutional mechanisms to preserve order, discipline and operational effectiveness within the ranks. The Armed Forces remain resolute in maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, loyalty and respect for constitutional authority,” the statement read.

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