There was unusual jubilation at the headquarters of Nigeria National Petroleum Company limited ( NNPCL), on Thursday, over the sack of the Executive Vice President(Upstream ) Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and the Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya.
The Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), on Wednesday night, expelled the duo in a management shake- up and consequently appointed their replacements.
The sacked officers have roundly been accused of being a clog in the wheel of progress and believed to be antagonistic to the leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL, Engineer Mele Kyari .
The staffers of NNPCL, who, were seen discussing the development in groups noted that the board acted swiftly to save the company from the antics of the sacked officers.
It will be recalled that the sacked officers had been on a collision course with Kyari, in what was seen as power tussle .
Eyesan and Ajiya were engaged in unholy moves to unseat and replace Kyari.
Rather than working collaboratively to achieve the set goals of the company, Eyesan and Ajiya engaged in unsavoury activities to sabotage and discredit Kyari in grandplan to plot his disgraceful exit from office.
The new appointment, according to NNPCL’s spokesman Olufemi Soneye, was to reflect the continued dedication to enhancing corporate governance, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring long-term success in Nigeria’s energy sector.
In the new dispensation as announced by Soneye, Mr. Adedapo Segun replaced Ajiya while Udobong Ntia, was appointed to succeed the embattled Eyesan.
Many employees of NNPCL were in joyous mood on Thursday when the report of the sack of duo was made public.
They described their sack “as long overdue.”
“The Executive Vice President (Upstream), NNPCL, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan and the Chief Financial officer of the company, Umar Ajiya, have long constituted a nuisance in the wheel of progress of NNPCL. Instead of them to work in synergy with other board members to achieve the goals set for the company by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, they are pre-oocupied with intrigues to ease out the GCEO, Engineer Mele Kyari and take over from him.”
“They are not interested in the discharge of the duties of their offices but daily engage in activities to bring Mele Kyari into disrepute and pull down the roof. Two of them are just after Kyari’s office, which has not been declared vacant by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who solely has the power to hire and fire our GCEO.”
“They opposed major policy decisions aimed at achieving far-reaching results at the board meeting just to ensure that the board and management of the company fail in their endeavours. So, it’s a good development that they have been asked to go eventually.”
“We thank the board for this courageous and bold move, which would consequently generate positive outcome. We are excited about their disgraceful exit, which is long overdue. It’s a good radiance to bad rubbish.”
“We are overjoyed. The company can now move forward in all its patriotic endeavours in aid of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” one of the elated workers of NNPCL excited stated in Abuja on Thursday.
Similarly, Niger Delta and industry stakeholders have also welcomed the exit of Eyesan and Ajiya from the board of NNPCL.
With their exit, various stakeholders were unanimous that NNPCL’s could henceforth move in steady progression to achieve set goals and objectives.
They lamented the delay in booting out the duo from the board of the strategic board.
A senior member of staff in one International Oil Company (IOC), who pleaded that his name should not be mentioned in print, said, “We applaud the removal of these guys from the board of NNPCL. Their sack would ensure ease of doing business in the oil industry.”
“These two guys have negatively impacted the board because of their antagonistic tendencies and deliberate attempts to pull down the roof. With their presence on the board, NNPCL find it difficult to push through in vital business decisions. It’s a good thing that they have been pushed out. The board of NNPCL can heave a sigh of relief and move forward with the new numbers of the board, who are expected to tow progressive path,” the oil worker, who didn’t want his name in print, stated.
In their reactions, various Niger Delta stakeholders and groups, also hailed the board of NNPCL for weeding out Eyesan and Ajiya.
Spokesman of Niger Delta Consultative Assembly (NDCA), Sylvester Utuedon, described the sack of Eyesan and Ajiya as “bold and courageous.”