The Group Chief Executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, ( NNPCL) Mr.Bayo Ojulari, has disclosed that the state-owned energy firm would resume oil drilling in the northern part of the country.

Ojulari stated this in an interview with BBC News Hausa on Monday, as this comes over two years after the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari launched the crude oil drilling project on the border of Bauchi and Gombe states.

Ojulari said the suspended project would be resumed under his leadership. Recall that northerners had expressed joy over the plan by President Buhari to turn the region into an oil-rich zone like the Niger Delta. But, the project failed to continue for undisclosed reasons.

But the new GCEO of the NNPC, Ojulari, urged residents of the region to calm down because the national oil firm will return to work, he told the BBC.

“We will continue with the oil drilling in Kolmani and other places. After the oil drilling, we will also ensure that we complete the gas pipeline from Ajaokuta to Kano,” Ojulari said.

According to him, these projects will allow previously closed companies to reopen so they can continue operating and open new ones. “This will bring benefits to the region, which will lead to everyone benefiting because wealth will increase. Therefore, we must return and continue this project,” he said.

Recall that in November 2022, Buhari launched a crude oil drilling project in the Kolmani area on the border of Bauchi and Gombe states in the northeast of the country, marking the first time that oil drilling had begun in the north.

After this, the NNPCL announced that crude oil drilling in Nasarawa State, located in the north-central part of the country, would commence in March 2023. However, this has yet to take place since then, even as Nigerians demand an explanation for the suspension of the project.

In the interview, Ojulari added that he is also a northerner, expressing surprise over the reaction of some northerners when his appointment was announced. He asked the northerners and the entire country to support him and to help him with prayers to successfully move the region and the country forward.