The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has threatened to sue SaharaReporters over a publication exposing how its Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari and the Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya were allegedly paid gratuities while still in active service.
Gratuity is a sum of money paid to an employee at the end of a period of employment.
NNPCL made the threat in a letter signed by its law firm, Alegeh and Co. legal practitioners and sent to the online newspaper.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported how Kyari and Ajiya paid themselves billions of Naira as gratuities.
According to a source, the officials made the move over the fear of being retired compulsorily by the incoming government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Following his victory in the February 25 presidential poll, Tinubu is expected to be sworn in as President on May 29, 2023, to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari who is rounding off his second term in office.
“Isn’t this corruption? Our Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari and the Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya paid themselves gratuity running into billions of naira while still in active service which is against the public service rules,” a source had said.
“With the Petroleum Industry Act that was passed by the National Assembly, NNPC transited into a limited liability company with share capital for more transparency and accountability and to be a profit-driven organization. But unfortunately, under Kyari and Ajiya, the reverse is the case.
“The fear that they may be sacked or asked to go on retirement suddenly made these two individuals to pay themselves humongous gratuity while still in active service.
“They are both running NNPC as their personal company because nobody is checkmating the both of them.”
It was further learnt that the Act gives the Group CEO and CFO enormous powers without recourse to the President since there is a constituted board of NNPC.
However, the board is said to lack the power to oversight NNPC administrative duties.
“The PIA has created a lacuna by giving the group CEO and CFO enormous powers to run the organisation without recourse to the President. Same Umar Ajiya retired from NLNG before joining NNPC, guess what? He was paid gratuity in NLNG and now he has paid himself another gratuity, which is against the public service law while still in active service with the corporation,” he had said.
The source added that many staff members of NNPC were not happy with the way the company was being managed by Kyari.
He said the termination of their previous roles entitled them to gratuity benefits while they served in different positions under the new NNPC.
Reacting to the story earlier published by SaharaReporters, Garba Deen Muhammad, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL confirmed the payment of gratuities to the duo.
He, however, said they were paid for their service to “NNPC and not NNPCL.”
Muhammad added that the termination of their previous roles entitled them to gratuity benefits while they served in different positions under the new NNPC.
“Therefore they are entitled to their terminal benefits. The new tenured roles they assumed with NNPC Limited cannot be regarded as a continuance of their previous positions in the defunct corporation,” he said.
However, in a letter dated 24th of April, 2023 to SaharaReporters, NNPCL demanded a retraction with an apology carried with the same prominence on its platform within seven days.
The oil corporation claimed the story had dented the reputation of Kyari and Ajiya and demanded the payment of a sum of N2,000,000,000.00 in damages.
“Our Clients informed us that on the 12th April, 2023, your organization published a defamatory article with the headline: “Exclusive: Fresh Crisis In Nigeria’s Petroleum Company, NNPC As CEO Mele Kyari, Chief Financial Officer, Ajiya Secretly Pay Themselves Billions Of Naira As Gratuities”.
“In the said publication, you falsely and maliciously made various defamatory statements in respect of Our Clients. In the said publication, you specifically stated about and concerning our Clients, inter alia, as follows: “Multiple sources told Sahara Reporters that Kyari and the Chief Financial Officer of the corporation had paid themselves billions of naira as gratuity despite still in service.”
“Upon becoming aware of the said false and defamatory publication, in order to set the records straight and afford you an opportunity to retract the defamatory publication, Our Clients issued a Press Statement on 1 April, 2023 2, to state the true and accurate position of the disengagement from the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the current appointments with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The Press Statement also made it clear that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is a responsible corporate organization which places high premium on fiscal responsibility and due processes.
“Surprisingly, rather than tender an unreserved apology for the aforesaid defamatory publication and pulling down the said publication from your website, your organization, on 14th April, 2023 published yet another damaging, false and defamatory article titled: “EXCLUSIVE: Amid Probe, Corruption Allegations, Nigeria’s Petroleum Company, NNPC CEO, Mele Kyari, CFO, Ajiya Jet Off To Saudi Arabia To Lobby Buhari”.
“In this latter publication, you again made false and defamatory statements about and concerning Our Clients. Specifically, you recklessly and falsely stated, in part, as follows: According to multiple sources, though, the top NNPC officials flew out of Nigeria in the guise of performing lesser hajj (Umrah), they are in the Islamic country to ‘lobby’ an appointment with President Buhari.”
“The direct/indirect import, meaning and innuendos of the afore-referenced false and defamatory publications are that: I. Our Client, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is not an accountable and transparent institution;
https://nnpcgroup.corn/insights/press-statement-group-managing-director-and-group-executive-director-f-and-a-career-with-nigerian-national-petroleumcorporation-ended-in-line-with-the-provisions-of-pia-and-appropriate-government-circular https://saharareporters.com/2023/04/14/exclusive-amid-probe-corruption-allegatipns-nigerias-petroleum-company-nnpc-ceo-mele
“2. The Board/Management of Our Client, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, is bereft of corporate integrity and fiscal responsibility;
“3. Our Clients, Mallam Mele Kyari and Mr. Umar Ajiya, are fraudulent, criminally minded, greedy, high handed and gluttonous characters that lack the capacity to be trusted with public office and funds; and
“4. Our Clients are untrustworthy Nigerians with criminal tendencies. Our Clients have been maligned, their reputation damaged and their estimation have been needlessly eroded and reduced in the eyes of right-thinking members of the society, by reason of your false and defamatory publications. Our Clients have thus suffered severe irreparable reputational damage.
“In light of the foregoing, we have our clients’ instructions to unequivocally demand as follows: Immediate and formal retraction of the offensive and defamatory publications dated 12th and 14th April, 2023 respectively;
“Publication of an apology to Our Clients on your official website and your verified social media platforms;
“Payment of a sum of 2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) as damages. TAKE NOTICE that failure to comply With the demands embodied herein within 7 days upon receipt of this Letter by email, shall leave us with no other option than to effectuate Our Clients’ final instructions to seek the appropriate legal redress on their behalf in a Court of Law.
“Please accept the assurances of our warm regards and high esteem.” (SaharaReporters except edited headline)
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