Bayo Ojulari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), was not coerced into resigning by Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Olukoyede was responding to accusations that he and Adeola Ajayi, the Director General of the Department of State Services, or DSS, had met behind closed doors in Abuja and coerced Ojulari into writing a letter of resignation.
It further claimed that Ojulari was questioned about his suspected connections to Olatimbo Ayinde, a British-Nigerian oil magnate who is said to be linked to important members of the current government.
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According to an EFCC statement released on Wednesday by spokesman Dele Oyewale, Olukoyede, via his attorney Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), called the claims damaging to his reputation and defamatory.
“It is impossible to disregard or treat the publications and the accusations they convey with lightheartedness,” the statement said.
Olukoyede has not violated the public’s confidence, it further stated, “by submitting the authority of his public office and trust as Chairman of the EFCC to the dictates and directives of one Olatimbo Ayinde.”
The chairman of the EFCC has now threatened legal action and demanded an official apology and the removal of the story from the outlet’s digital platforms within 48 hours.
