The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has denied allegations that he coerced the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, into resigning from office.
A report published on August 2, 2025 (not by The Punch) claimed that Olukoyede, alongside the Director General of the Department of State Services, Adeola Ajayi, forced the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL to sign a resignation letter during a meeting in Abuja.
The publication also suggested that Ojulari was questioned about his alleged connections to Olatimbo Ayinde, a British-Nigerian oil businesswoman reportedly influential within the current administration.
In a follow-up article, it was reported that Ojulari was later summoned to the Presidential Villa, where the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, reportedly opposed his resignation.
According to a statement on Wednesday by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale said Olukoyede, through his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), described the allegations as false, defamatory, and damaging to his personal and professional reputation.
“The publications and the imputations conveyed by them are so damning and cannot be ignored or treated with levity,” the statement partly said.
Olukoyede specifically rejected the insinuation that he acted under the influence of Olatimbo Ayinde, a British-Nigerian oil businesswoman alleged to wield influence in the current administration.
In a letter addressed to the Editor and signed by Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, Olukoyede stressed that the publications and the imputations conveyed by them are so damning and cannot be ignored or treated with levity.
“He, therefore, demanded that the medium acknowledge your wrongdoing, expressly admit that what you published and imputed against my client are false, apologise for it unreservedly and retract and pull down the stories from your newspaper website and social media handles, ” the statement quoted the letter to have read.
He said the report attempted to portray him as “someone that has betrayed and subverted public trust by submitting the authority of his public office and trust as Chairman of the EFCC to the dictates and directives of one Olatimbo Ayinde.”
Describing the story as a fabrication, Olukoyede demanded a public apology and the retraction of the publication from both the website and social media platforms of the news outlet within 48 hours.
Olukoyede’s legal team also warned that failure to comply would result in legal action. “Any failure of compliance with these instructions will result in the issuance of a writ in the tort of defamation,” the letter stated.
