A group, the Nigerian Transparency Initiative (NTI), has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, to openly address the corruption allegations leveled against him in recent months.

The group said the controversies trailing his leadership are too weighty to be ignored, insisting that silence would only deepen public suspicion and erode confidence in the national oil company.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, Muyiwa Salami, cordinator of NTI, in a statement, said the controversies are capable of undermining the reputation of the NNPCL and the confidence of Nigerians in the oil sector.

“We call on Mr. Bayo Ojulari to answer these allegations in clear terms. Failure to do so will only suggest that there is something to hide,” Salami said.

The group also noted that while some groups have dismissed the allegations as political blackmail orchestrated by entrenched interests, the scale and consistency of the reports demand accountability.

“It is in Ojulari’s own interest and in the interest of the Nigerian people that he speaks up. Transparency is the only way to clear the air and preserve the integrity of his office,” the statement added.

The group further called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to intensify investigations into the allegations, stressing that Nigerians deserve full disclosure on matters that touch on billions of naira in public resources.