● A Friendship Forged At Mobil, Sealed In Politics, Blooms With Profits
Loyalty may raise the lowliest of men to fancy repute and nobility. The lack of it, however, has been seen to reduce the noblest of men to the petty level of varmints.
Whether in the cutthroat world of politics or the competitive circuits of commerce, it takes the highest level of integrity and discipline for one man to stay true to another, let alone a boss to his subordinate.
But Dr Pius Akinyelure is remarkably different. Among other things, he would never swap horses mid-stream. Akinyelure understands that reciprocal loyalty is possible only when fidelity is stripped of frantic conceit, from which the treachery of the mind might naturally arise.
Little wonder he stood by his longstanding friend and subordinate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the ordeal of his tedious presidential campaign and coordinated attacks against his credentials and person.
Thus it was hardly surprising that following Tinubu’s triumph at the polls and subsequent swearing-in as Nigeria’s President, he chose to reward Akinyelure.
President Tinubu recently appointed Akinyelure as the board chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. His appointment takes effect from December 1.
The NNPCL, Nigeria’s major cash cow, which is responsible for harnessing the nation’s oil and gas reserves for sustainable national development, was transformed from a government-owned corporation to a limited liability company in July 2022. Now a dynamic global energy company with businesses and operations across the entire spectrum of the energy value chain, NNPC Limited is the only entity licensed to operate in the country’s petroleum industry.
But Akinyelure is not new to the NNPC. On the recommendation of Tinubu, he was first appointed to the board of the NNPC in 2016 by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2020. A proven oil and gas professional, he is expected to bring his over four decades of experience in the global oil and gas industry to bear on his new role.
Akinyelure’s decades-long relationship with President Tinubu, no doubt, earned him the latest coveted appointment.
And the reason is not far-fetched. A mentor, big brother, and perhaps one of the longest-standing friends of the president, Dr Akinyelure was one of the most steadfast associates when it was injudicious, almost bordering on hara-kiri to be linked with Tinubu. Despite the unremitting avalanche of vitriolic onslaught from the opposition, the Ondo-born businessman never shifted grounds.
In a dated interview detailing how their paths crossed, Dr Akinyelure said, “I met Bola Ahmed Tinubu first time when we shortlisted his name at Mobil Oil. He appeared for the interview and we scrutinised his credentials. We referred all his credentials to the awarding institutions and we found out at Mobil that they were genuine and authentic. He would never have been employed by our organisation if any, no matter how minute, of his credentials, was found wanting.
“We employed him as senior Auditor. A few years later, Tinubu carried out a very comprehensive audit like never before which indicted many Directors including the MD of Mobil, which led to the MD’s suspension. The company now needed a new Treasurer who would renew the battered image of the company, which came about as a result of Tinubu’s Audit. So, we, the remaining Directors thought that only the man who did the audit was in the best position to help the company. And he was appointed as the Treasurer.”
Akinyelure continued, “A few years later, he came to meet me that he would want to resign from the company to join politics so that he can serve his people and humanity. He was already looking very unstoppable. That was how he left Mobil and joined Politics.”
It may be said that Akinyelure’s unwavering loyalty to Tinubu through the trying elections campaign and his decades-long relationship with him earned him the latest coveted appointment.
Before his appointment as Chairman – Akinyelure, an oil industry practitioner, who is a certified Accountant with a Master of Science Degree in Management – was a member of the board of the NNPC Limited.
The appointments come five months after the President dissolved the board of federal government’s agencies and parastatsals including that of the NNPC Limited
Before the President’s dissolution of the board of federal government parastatals on June 19 this year, the board of the NNPC Limited was chaired by Mrs Margary Okadigbo who was appointed on January 5, 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Akinyelure has over 30 years working experience in the oil industry at top management/executive levels, both Upstream and Downstream.
Prior to his retirement from Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc on June 1, 1997, he was the Executive Director, Finance and External Relations for the company.
He is also Chairman/Director in several other companies like King Guards Nigeria Ltd, Transnational Computer Technology, SPA dredging Company Limited, Pak Oil Marketing Limited, ACOP Properties Limited, Betta Consortium (Ikoyi Hotels) and CAT Construction Company Limited.
