Wale Tinubu, President have no interest in OVH, NNPC replies Atiku

The crisis trailing the acquisition of Oando’s OVH and the retail arms of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Retail, took a new twist yesterday as the state oil firm denounced political interest and debunked claims made by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, that it has been hijacked by “corporate cabals” around President Bola Tinubu.

Atiku had in a statement signed by his media aide, Paul Ibe, on Wednesday, expressed astonishment at how the NNPC “placed its retail division under the management of OVH, a company in which Oando, headed by Wale Tinubu, owns 49 per cent”.

In its reaction through a statement signed by NNPC Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, in Abuja on Thursday, NNPC described Atiku’s claim as a false alarm. According to the state-owned oil firm, neither Wale Tinubu nor the President has any interest in the OVH acquisition.

Maintaining that it is a commercially-focused and profit-driven company managed by professionals who are committed to adding value to the nation, the NNPC explained that investment decisions by its management are strictly determined on the basis of commercial viability and national interest.

“At the time NNPC Ltd acquired OVH in 2022, Oando (in which Mr. Wale Tinubu has equity interest), had fully divested its equity in OVH to the two other partners – Vitol and Helios. Oando actually began its divestment in 2016, with Vitol and Helios coming in as equity partners, leading to the change of name from Oando to OVH. In 2019, Oando fully divested its equity interest in OVH resulting in Vitol and Helios holding 50 per cent equity interests respectively,” NNPC said.

The company noted that upon acquisition of OVH by NNPC Ltd, both NNPC Retail Ltd and OVH effectively became subsidiaries of NNPC Ltd, adding that based on professional advice and sound commercial considerations, NNPC Ltd opted to merge NNPC Retail Limited into OVH, and thereafter retain NNPC Retail Limited as the company name post-merger.

The state oil firm said the first step of merging NNPC Retail Ltd into OVH has been completed and the post-merger renaming as NNPC Retail Ltd is ongoing.

It noted that neither Wale Tinubu nor the President has any interest in the OVH acquisition, stressing further that the company as a commercial entity is devoid of political interest and shall continue to conduct its business full of commitment to national interest and value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders.