Weeks after surviving plots to oust him from office, Bayo Ojulari, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company boss, has revealed the NNPC under his watch is “under attack” from “enemies of Nigeria” opposed to reforms in the oil sector.

Mr Ojulari disclosed this while  hosting a delegation from the national body of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Thursday.

“We are under attack,” Mr Ojulari said. “We will not budge to short-term pressure, as it will not be in the best interest of Nigerians. You cannot drive change without a price, and the transformation is tough.”

The NNPC boss, who assumed office about five months ago, stated that he was not under pressure from President Bola Tinubu, adding, “The enemies of this company and Nigerians will not win.”

“Mr President doesn’t pressure me to do the wrong thing. That is why we are examining the baseline to ensure that whatever we do, the refineries operate sustainably going forward. We don’t want to pretend and just do some quick fix because there is pressure on us,” Mr Ojulari said.

The NNPC boss’s statement comes weeks after Peoples Gazette, on August 2, exposed how Mr Ojulari wasseized and pressured to sign a resignation letter by Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the anti-graft EFCC, and Adeola Ajayi, the director-general of the State Security Service.

The Gazette also reported that Mr Ojulari returned to work through the intervention of the First Lady, Remi Tinubu, after the plot to remove him from office was thwarted.

Mr Olukoyede and Ms Ajayi have denied involvement in the plot to oust Mr Ojulari from office, threatening legal suit against The Gazette. However, Mr Ojulari has not denied the report by this newspaper.