Abdullahi Bashir-Haske: How NNPCL Boss Bayo Ojulari’s Ties To Atiku’s
The alleged connection between Bayo Ojulari and Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, the son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, may cost the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) his job.
While there have been reports suggesting Ojulari has resigned, insider sources reveal that he remains in office for now, though his continued stay is seen as highly unlikely.
President Bola Tinubu, who appointed Ojulari just four months ago to succeed Mele Kyari, is reportedly furious over damning security briefings about the NNPCL boss’s conduct in office.
Bayo Ojulari is under scrutiny in a money laundering probe, following the alleged transfer of millions of dollars to the account of AA&R Investment Group, a company with interests spanning energy, logistics, agribusiness, and ICT. The company is owned by Abdullahi Bashir-Haske, who is married to the daughter of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Bashir-Haske has a long and controversial history with the NNPC. During the tenure of Maikanti Baru as GMD from 2016 to 2019, he reportedly enjoyed substantial patronage from the national oil company. That relationship was severed when Mele Kyari took over, as he allegedly cut off Haske from NNPC Limited contracts.
However, upon becoming GCEO in April, Ojulari is said to have reinstated Haske’s privileges—prompting investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC has reportedly interrogated Haske over alleged large-scale money laundering using complex financial schemes. There are now fears within the presidency that, through these dealings, NNPCL funds may have inadvertently been funneled to political opposition groups.
“The president is livid with rage. He sees this as a stab in the back,” one insider said.
Sources suggest that a discreet exit plan is being worked out for Ojulari, as an outright dismissal is deemed too politically sensitive at this stage.
“What Ojulari has been doing amounts to sleeping with the enemy,” a top official remarked
