Fresh controversy has engulfed Nigeria’s oil and gas sector following allegations that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, quietly recruited mostly Southerners into executive and middle management positions, amid claims that the exercise violated the federal character principle.
Sources told newsmen that the recruitment, conducted alongside the company’s ‘Accelerated and Voluntary Exit Programme’, lacked transparency and was carried out without public advertisement or clearly defined selection criteria.
The development comes as stakeholders also criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Executive Order 9, which redirects funds previously allocated to frontier oil exploration into the Federation Account. According to industry players, the twin developments have raised serious concerns over transparency, regional inclusion, corporate governance and Nigeria’s long-term energy security
It was gathered that Executive Order 9 effectively redirects resources from the Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF), established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), to finance exploration activities in Nigeria’s inland sedimentary basins. The basins include the Chad Basin, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough and Gongola Basin, which are regarded as some of Nigeria’s most promising untapped hydrocarbon provinces.
Industry stakeholders warned that suspending the fund could undermine one of the country’s most strategic long-term energy programmes aimed at boosting reserves and expanding oil production beyond the Niger Delta.
On the issue of secret hiring, insiders alleged that while experienced personnel are being encouraged to leave the company through the exit programme, ironically senior management positions are being filled through external recruitment.
Documents obtained indicate that 15 senior appointments were recently made, with 8 appointees from the South-West, five from the South-South, one from Kogi State and three from Lagos.
A source familiar with NNPCL’s ongoing recruitment expressed concern over the exercise, saying that the company’s long-standing record of transparent hiring has been compromised. He warned that the exercise could result in the loss of decades of institutional knowledge.
An industry stakeholder who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter described Executive Order 9 as “one of the biggest policy reversals in Nigeria’s energy sector since the Petroleum Industry Act came into force. The Frontier Exploration Fund was never just about searching for oil. It was a strategic investment designed to diversify Nigeria’s petroleum production, expand opportunities to frontier regions, strengthen energy security and prepare the country for the future. Removing that funding sends a disturbing signal”, the source said.
According to the stakeholder, redirecting exploration funds to immediate government spending may provide short-term fiscal relief but could weaken Nigeria’s reserve replacement strategy. “Nigeria’s mature oil fields are naturally declining. Every serious oil-producing country invests continuously in exploration because today’s discoveries become tomorrow’s production. If exploration stops, the country is simply consuming its future,” the source added.
Stakeholders further argued that Executive Order 9 undermines the spirit of the Petroleum Industry Act, which established the Frontier Exploration Fund after years of consultations involving government, lawmakers and industry experts.
Several stakeholders also expressed concern that the affected frontier basins are located largely in Northern Nigeria, where expectations had grown that successful discoveries would stimulate industrialisation, create jobs and attract private investment. They urged President Tinubu to review Executive Order 9, and engage relevant industry players before implementing policies with far-reaching implications.
When contacted, the NNPCL Chief Communications Officer, Andrew Odeh, didn’t respond to our correspondent’s inquiry on the matter.
