The celebration comes amid charges of corporate wrongdoing and contract racketeering among the company’s top executives.
The crème de la crème of the Nigerian oil industry, as well as the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, gathered in Abuja recently in a frontal display of wealth to celebrate the promotion of Aisha Farida Katagum, the new Group Executive Director of the NNPC.
According to accounts, the corporation incurred astronomical costs at the party, where they gorged themselves on the country’s meager resources such as royalties.
The celebration comes amid charges of corporate wrongdoing and contract racketeering among the company’s top executives.
One of them said that the caterer at the party served a seven-course dinner that ensured guests had a good time.
“Under the current regime, the NNPC has become increasingly politicized. You may recall that the Corporation announced promotions to top managers last week. A celebration was arranged in Abuja to honor Aisha Farida Katagum’s promotion to GED Corporate Services, much to our dismay.
“Clearly celebrating the money and corruption that is within reach; even the NNPC Group Managing Director was in attendance and played a huge role with musicians singing his praises.
Others included Umar Ajiya, Group Executive Director (GED) finance and accounting, Mrs Rose Essiet, GGM Crude Oil Marketing Department (COMD), Sophia Mbakwe, GGM Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Bala Wunti, GGM National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).
“Bala Wunti is well-known in NNPC for selling contracts; a few days after the promotions were announced, he and other high management employees were dancing at a party.
“Clearly, these folks are not focused on the issue at hand, but rather on celebrating corruption. A prominent insider informed SaharaReporters, “This is highly unbecoming of technocrats in a blatant display of unprofessionalism.”
Some of NNPC’s top executives have recently been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for favorable contracts.
Court filings from July 2021 revealed how Anthony Stimler, a former Glencore Plc trader located in the United Kingdom, plotted with others to commit millions of dollars in corrupt bribe payments to Nigerian officials.
The former trader pled guilty to his role in a bribery scheme, according to prosecutors in the United States.
According to a Bloomberg story, at a video session in Manhattan federal court, Stimler admitted to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and commit money laundering.
Prosecutors claimed that bribes of millions of dollars were given to Nigerian officials in exchange for the NNPC granting oil contracts and providing “more lucrative grades of oil on more favorable delivery terms.”
Prosecutors claimed that in exchange for the bribes, officials in Nigeria caused the Nigerian state-owned and state-controlled oil company (NNPC) to award oil contracts to Glencore, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the company, and their business partners, and to provide more lucrative grades of oil on more favorable delivery terms.