The widespread publication of the purported arrest of the Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Retail, Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been described as a campaign of calumny.
According to the Young Professional Alliance for Change, some mischief makers were uncomfortable of the strides recorded by Nnamdi-Ogbue in the NNPC from her days as the General Manager, Board Matters and Management Committee Department (BMMC) in the Corporate Secretariat and Legal Division (CSLD) to the Petroleum Products and Marketing Company, (PPMC) which she headed before her latest promotion.
According to Chukwudi Ifediora, the General Secretary of the Group, Nnamdi-Ogbue was invited by the EFCC to clarify certain operational issues which she promptly honored and was never arrested because she returned home after throwing light on the issue for which she was invited.
In his words, ‘Nnamdi-Ogbue is one of the shining light of the NNPC and she was very conscious of her duties and discharged them creditably. In fact, she was appointed the Managing Director of PPMC based on her pedigree at the NNPC.
The truth of the matter is that, she was invited and naturally honored the invitation. Moreover, she is one of the proponents of change in NNPC and her style of administration is still being spoken of in glowing terms in PPMC.’’
Addressing the allegation that Nnamdi-Ogbue has acquired some property worth N1.2bn with the proceeds of corruption, the Young Professional Alliance for Change clarified that the said property was rented, a fact which is verifiable, adding that the value of the property was nowhere near the sum of N1.2 billion being bandied about by some detractors who were bent on bringing her down.
