The Association of Energy Policy and Development Consultants (AEPDC) has withdrawn its earlier call for the removal of Bayo Ojulari as Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), saying further investigations led it to revise its assessment of the company’s financial management.

The association said its initial position had been based on incomplete information and interpretations that did not adequately reflect the circumstances surrounding NNPC’s energy security expenditure and other financial obligations.

National President of AEPDC, Dr Ibrahim Danjuma, announced the reversal at a press conference in Kaduna on Friday.

He said the association reviewed additional documents, examined the legal framework governing NNPC’s responsibilities and consulted industry stakeholders after issuing its earlier statement.

According to Danjuma, the review produced findings that differed significantly from the basis of the association’s initial criticism.

The group said it found what it described as a high level of transparency in the current management of NNPC, particularly in relation to the financial issues that had initially prompted its demand for Ojulari’s resignation.

Danjuma said AEPDC’s original position followed concerns over figures relating to energy security expenditure, pipeline protection and other claims contained in NNPC’s financial records.

The association had previously argued that the information available to it suggested inadequate transparency and accountability in the management of the country’s petroleum resources.

Danjuma said the group subsequently determined that it had reached that conclusion before completing a sufficiently detailed review of the available evidence.

“We have called this press conference today because we owe Nigerians an important explanation,” he said.

He explained that AEPDC had conducted additional investigations, reviewed relevant documents and engaged industry stakeholders before arriving at its revised position.

According to the association, its initial assessment was affected by incomplete information, selective interpretations and narratives that did not provide the full context surrounding the expenditure under review.

The subsequent examination included NNPC’s financial disclosures, its statutory obligations relating to energy security, under-recovery mechanisms, claims against the Federation and the operational circumstances surrounding the expenditure.

AEPDC said the size of NNPC’s energy security expenditure should not, on its own, be treated as evidence of unexplained spending.

The association argued that the figures needed to be considered alongside NNPC’s responsibilities under the applicable legal framework, including its role as an energy supplier of last resort, petroleum pricing interventions and the effects of exchange-rate movements.

Danjuma said the association also found that NNPC’s financial disclosures contained explanations that could allow the claims to be examined and independently scrutinised.

“What emerged from this exercise was substantially different from the picture initially presented to us,” he said.

He said the findings led the association to conclude that its earlier description of NNPC’s financial management as opaque had been unfair.

AEPDC therefore apologised to NNPC’s management and specifically to Ojulari for reaching its earlier conclusion before completing the investigation it believed the matter required.

Despite withdrawing its demand for Ojulari’s resignation, the association said it still supported legislative and independent scrutiny of NNPC’s finances.

Danjuma said the decision to retract the call should not be interpreted as opposition to accountability.

“Our decision today is therefore not a retreat from accountability. It is accountability in practice,” he said.

The group urged stakeholders examining NNPC’s financial activities to consider the full context behind individual figures and avoid drawing conclusions from isolated numbers.

AEPDC also called on NNPC to continue publishing comprehensive financial statements and providing detailed explanations for significant expenditures.

It recommended stronger systems for independently verifying and reporting energy security costs, arguing that clearer documentation would help stakeholders assess the company’s financial obligations and reduce the likelihood of conflicting interpretations.

Danjuma said the association’s revised position reflected its responsibility to publicly correct an assessment after discovering that it was not adequately supported by the full facts.

“We made a judgment. We investigated further. We found that the judgment was not sufficiently supported by the full facts. We are correcting it publicly,” he said.

The association has now withdrawn its demand for Ojulari’s resignation and reaffirmed confidence in his leadership of NNPC.

It nevertheless urged Ojulari and the company’s management to maintain transparency and accountability while improving efficiency in the management of Nigeria’s petroleum resources.

The development adds another layer to the ongoing public debate over NNPC’s financial disclosures and energy security expenditure, with the association now calling for scrutiny based on complete documentation rather than individual figures considered outside their wider financial and legal context.