Aleke Aleke in Abuja
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, was sighted at the NNPC Ltd Towers on Monday morning, a security source said on Monday.
The source further stated that the GCEO, has finally vindicated the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from the false abduction report.
His sudden appearance in his office, located at the NNPC Ltd Towers, Abuja, not only invalidated the false report circulated about his abduction over the weekend but also put to rest the fake narrative of his forceful resignation allegedly orchestrated and supervised by the two government institutions.
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Some online media outlets last weekend went to town with a fake report that top officials of two federal law enforcement and security bodies had abducted the head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, forcing him to resign at a secret rendezvous in Abuja.
The report further alleged that Bayo Ojulari was seized on Friday and pressured to sign a resignation letter.
But reacting to the fake narrative, a highly placed source at the DSS on Monday averred that Ojulari’s presence in the office conflicts with a story by the online medium on Friday that he was abducted by top officers of the DSS and the EFCC and forced to resign from office.
Also, staff of NNPC Ltd said they were amused by the fake news, as they knew that Ojulari worked from home at the weekend and reported to work, as he normally would, on Monday at about 9:30 a.m.
“When the former management was removed, it didn’t take more than a press statement or a post on X to achieve that. So, saying it took the combined effort of the DSS and EFCC to remove a government appointee from office is a new high in the growing fake news industry,” another security source said.
The source also advised reporters and online news media outlets to do more to confirm a story before going public with it, to avoid intentionally or unintentionally spreading fake news or misinforming the public.
“While the service will not dictate to the press how to do its job, we will not tolerate deliberate misinformation of the public by the media,” the source warned.
