The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced the appointment of two senior executives, Mr Andy Odeh and Mrs Morenike Adewunmi, to lead its corporate communications and stakeholder relations arms.

Odeh was named Chief Corporate Communications Officer, while Adewunmi was appointed Chief Relations Officer, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Describing both appointees as “seasoned executives,” the national oil firm stated that the move shows its commitment to strengthening stakeholder engagement and public communication across its operations.

Odeh, a veteran communications professional, brings more than 30 years of experience spanning the oil and gas, advertising, and broadcast industries.

The statement noted that he spent 26 years at Nigeria LNG Limited, where he held several leadership positions in community relations, logistics, IT, corporate communications, public affairs, and regulatory compliance.

“At NLNG, he successfully managed the company’s rebranding and implemented one of Nigeria’s best-run micro-credit schemes for host communities,” NNPC said.

He was also credited with playing a key role in instituting the NLNG Prize for Energy Reporting.

A graduate of the University of Jos and the University of Lagos, Odeh is also an alumnus of INSEAD Business School and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.

Adewunmi, a legal practitioner with over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, joins NNPCL from the Shell Companies in Nigeria.

Her background is in stakeholder management and regulatory affairs, and she previously served as Regulatory Affairs Manager and later Government Relations Manager at Shell.

“Mrs. Adewunmi is known for her strong leadership skills, emotional intelligence, and ability to build robust stakeholder networks,” the company said. “She is a subject matter expert on non-technical risks.”

She holds a law degree from Olabisi Onabanjo University and was called to the Nigerian Bar after completing her training at the Nigerian Law School.

The company said the appointments of Odeh and Adewunmi are strategic and timely as it continues to reposition for improved public trust and effective engagement with its host communities, regulators, and international partners.

“The appointment of Mr Odeh and Mrs Adewunmi reflects NNPC Limited’s commitment to enhancing communication and engagement with stakeholders,” the statement added.

Their appointment comes a little over two months after Olufemi Soneye resigned from his position as Chief Corporate Communications Officer on June 21, 2025.

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The Federal Government and the Nigeria Labour Congress have resolved a dispute over workers’ pension funds following a meeting with the National Pension Commission on August 29, 2025.

The meeting, led by PENCOM Director-General Omolola Oloworaran, marked the DG’s first official interaction with the NLC since assuming office in July 2024.

The engagement followed weeks of escalating pressure from the country’s biggest labour organisation. On August 13, 2025, the NLC Central Working Committee issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the immediate constitution of the PENCOM governing board, the return of allegedly diverted workers’ funds from the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, and a full status report on pension funds. It also warned that failure to meet these demands would trigger a nationwide strike.

The pension regulator rejected the claims of missing funds and assured that workers’ pensions were safe and secure. Earlier, its acting Director of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Buwai, had said that the appointment of the PENCOM board is a Federal Government prerogative.

“Pension funds are the exclusive property of Nigerian workers and must be managed with utmost transparency and accountability,” NLC President Joe Ajaero said at the meeting.

The labour leader raised concerns over PENCOM functioning without a statutory board, noting that workers have the right to know how their funds are administered.

NLC mentioned the persistent challenges faced by retirees and those nearing retirement in accessing their benefits, urging PENCOM to intensify oversight of Pension Fund Administrators, enforce compliance, and impose sanctions where necessary.

In response, PENCOM DG Omolola Oloworaran called for a new chapter of engagement with the NLC. She apologised for past media disputes and for failing to visit or formally engage with the Congress upon assuming office. The executive pledged a transparent, open, and collaborative approach, promising that PENCOM would no longer address disagreements through the media but would instead establish continuous and structured dialogue with the NLC.

Oloworaran also unveiled plans to enhance public accountability through PENCOM’s dashboard, enabling real-time updates on pension matters. Going forward, PENCOM will be sending regular reports to the NLC and developing a clear framework for sustained engagement, emphasizing the importance of trust, harmony, and transparency.

The DG acknowledged the NLC’s critical role as workers’ representatives on the PENCOM board and called for their continued support to strengthen oversight of PFAs. Both parties agreed to collaborate closely on compliance and enforcement, ensuring the protection of workers’ contributions.

The resolution may also encourage broader participation in the pension scheme, as only about 40 percent of Nigerian states have currently signed on. The NLC and PENCOM concluded the meeting with a shared commitment to safeguarding workers’ pensions, improving transparency, and renewing trust, signalling a new chapter in Nigeria’s pension administration.

Recall that NLC also criticised the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund for a lack of transparency, similar to past concerns with PENCOM. The union accused the government of diverting 40 per cent of funds from the Employees’ Compensation Scheme administered by NSITF into the Treasury, undermining the scheme’s role in protecting employees injured, ill, or deceased at work.

On August 16, 2025, NSITF Managing Director Oluwaseun Faleye confirmed that deductions had been made but denied diversion, explaining that withdrawals followed a Ministry of Finance directive introduced in December 2023 requiring state-owned enterprises to remit half of internally generated revenue. The Federal Government has promised to reverse the deductions, a move aimed at calming tensions with the NLC.

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Despite the outstanding N2.7tn legacy debt, gas companies supplied 179.79 billion standard cubic feet of gas to power firms between January and July 2025, valued at approximately N607bn.

A report by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission disclosed that gas-to-power supply reached its highest level in three months, with average daily deliveries rising by 3.48 per cent month-on-month, from 833.86 million standard cubic feet per day in June to 862.86 mmscf/d in July 2025.

Over the first seven months of the year, gas-to-power supply stood at 780.23 mmscf/d in January, increased to 849.37 mmscf/d in February, and rose further to 886.83 mmscf/d and 886.70 mmscf/d in March and April, respectively. The daily averages for May, June, and July were 837.64 mmscf/d, 833.86 mmscf/d, and 862.86 mmscf/d, respectively.

This translates to an average of 24.19 Bscf in January, 23.78 Bscf in February, 27.49 Bscf in March, and 26.60 Bscf in April. In May, June, and July, the volume of gas supplied to power generation companies was 25.96 Bscf, 25.02 Bscf, and 26.75 Bscf, respectively.

It was revealed that the thermal plants consumed the largest percentage of the domestic gas supply, even when many of the power generation companies still owed billions of naira to gas companies. Our correspondent learned that one of the largest power plants in the country owes an international oil company over N500bn in unpaid gas debt. But generation companies said they would only pay the gas debts when the Federal Government clears the N5tn debt owed to the Gencos.

According to the United States Energy Information Administration, 1 cubic foot equals 1,036 British thermal units. This means that the 179.79 Bscf used for power generation between January and July is equal to 186.26 million MMBtu.

With the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s gas-to-power price of $2.13/MMBtu, this is equivalent to $396.74m. At an exchange rate of N1,530 to a dollar, the figure is approximately N607bn worth of gas supplied to power generation companies in seven months.

As of December 2024, it was reported that the Federal Government and some power generation companies owed over N2.7tn in legacy debts to gas producers in Nigeria. The gas companies, earlier in the first quarter of 2024, stopped gas supply to the power generation companies due to mounting debts, plunging the country into weeks of darkness. The Federal Government waded in with promises gas producers said were left unfulfilled.

As gas producers lamented the debts owed by power generation companies, the Federal Government said it was planning to clear the N2.7tn owed to gas companies with royalties.

The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this recently during a Zoom meeting organised by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, in commemoration of Ekpo’s second year in office.

With the new arrangement, gas companies that are owed by the government for gas supplied to power plants would be settled through the gas royalties they are required to pay to the government. Komolafe stated that the NUPRC played a critical role alongside other stakeholders to address the legacy debt.

Since the majority of the companies that are owed pay royalties, Komolafe added that discussions were ongoing about how to extinguish the debt through royalty credits. “On the issue of legacy power debt, I would like to say that the commission is playing a critical role in conjunction with other stakeholders.

“One of the solutions that has been canvassed is the extinguishment of the legacy debt through royalty credits. You might note that most of the companies that are owed are gas producers; they pay royalties on gas. So, some of the discussions have been, ‘Can such debts be extinguished on the basis of royalty credits that they have?’” he asked.

The NUPRC boss added that the regulator, as the agency supervising production and royalty payments, is providing guidance to the government on how to implement the idea without disrupting government revenue flow.

“The commission is providing guidance to the authorities, both to the Decade of Gas and the minister, on how such a mechanism can be implemented in a manner that is not going to disrupt the industry or even the revenue flow to the government.

“So, being the entity that is charged with the assessment of royalty and the assessment of production, we provide the necessary data and the necessary guidance to address those issues relating to royalty payment and extinguishment of the gas-to-power debt through royalty payment,” Komolafe disclosed.

Speaking recently at a function in Lagos, the Chairman of Geometric Power and former Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji, regretted that despite having over 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, Nigeria continues to struggle to supply enough gas to its power plants.

Nnaji expressed deep concern over what he described as a national contradiction: being rich in natural gas but still failing to meet domestic electricity generation needs. “It’s quite perplexing. We are a gas-rich country, yet we struggle to supply enough gas to our power plants. It’s a contradiction that many find hard to understand,” he said.

Nnaji, a former Minister of Power, noted that while the official domestic gas price for power generation was formerly pegged at $2.42/MMBtu, the NMDPRA revised it down to $2.13/MMBtu effective April 1, 2025. However, he said generation companies often source gas from the open market at $2.70 and above, depending on supply constraints and contract terms.

“Because most electricity is generated using gas, and GenCos depend heavily on sourcing this gas from the open market, the disparity between the regulated and actual prices continues to strain the sector,” Nnaji said.

He warned that the pricing gap is worsening liquidity challenges in the power sector, contributing significantly to the over N1tn electricity subsidy recorded in the first half of 2025 and the growing trillion-naira debt owed to GenCos by the Federal Government. According to him, the gas-to-power benchmark being below market realities places an unsustainable burden on power producers.

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