By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Arewa Youth Alliance for Progress and Development (AYAPAD) has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) a seven-working-day ultimatum to release details of its recent recruitment exercise and provide a comprehensive update on oil exploration activities in northern frontier basins, alleging that the employment process may have violated the Federal Character principle.

The demand was contained in a letter signed by AYAPAD Secretary, James Ishaku, and addressed to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari. A copy of the letter, obtained by News Express, alleged that reports available to the group indicated that “all but one of the successful candidates hail from Southern Nigeria.” It demanded the immediate release of the names of newly appointed staff, their states and local government areas of origin, as well as the positions they occupy, insisting that if the allegation proves true, it would amount to “a flagrant violation of the Federal Character Principle” enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

“The North will not sit idly by while its sons and daughters are systematically locked out of a corporation funded by the patrimony of all Nigerians,” the group stated.

AYAPAD also requested certified true copies of all vacancy advertisements published for the recruitment exercise, saying it wanted to determine whether the positions were openly advertised and accessible to qualified applicants across the country.

“We must ascertain whether these positions were widely publicised in national dailies and online platforms accessible to qualified Northern youth, or whether the exercise was a clandestine, pre-determined selection designed to exclude our region,” the letter said, adding that any silence on the matter would be interpreted as an admission that the process lacked transparency.

Beyond the recruitment exercise, the organisation demanded a detailed update on oil exploration activities in the Gongola Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough and Lake Chad Basin, expressing concern over what it described as the opaque handling of crude oil prospecting in the frontier basins.

The group also referred to allegations that funds earmarked for frontier basin exploration under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had been transferred into the Treasury Single Account through a presidential directive, calling for clarification and the immediate reversal of the alleged action if confirmed.

“We demand to know the timelines of exploration in our region. Enough is Enough,” AYAPAD declared.

The organisation reminded Ojulari that his appointment as Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL was widely welcomed across Northern Nigeria, expressing the expectation that his leadership would promote fairness, equity and regional balance in the management of the national oil company.

“Do not cheat the region that proudly claims you. We expect nothing but justice, equity, and a clear departure from the institutionalised marginalisation that has defined the past,” the letter stated, adding that his legacy would be judged by the level of inclusion and public trust he inspires.

AYAPAD in the letter received by the NNPCL Lagos Office on Monday, July 20, 2026, warned that it would invoke the Freedom of Information Act, organise peaceful protests and institute legal and civil proceedings against the NNPCL and its principal officers if it failed to receive what it described as a satisfactory response within seven working days.

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