The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has confirmed that the company will soon resume crude oil drilling in the northern region of the country.

Ojulari made the announcement during an interview with BBC News Hausa on Monday.

The planned resumption comes over two years after the previous administration, led by former President Muhammadu Buhari, inaugurated drilling operations at the Kolmani oil field, located along the Bauchi-Gombe border.

Ojulari stated that the suspended project will resume under his leadership.

It will be recalled that many northerners had expressed excitement over former President Buhari’s plan to transform the region into an oil-producing zone comparable to the Niger Delta. However, the project stalled for undisclosed reasons.

Now, the new GCEO of the NNPC, has urged residents of the region to remain calm, assuring them in an interview with the BBC that the national oil company will return to work.

“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.

He stated that these projects will help revive previously shut-down companies, allowing them to resume operations and create new businesses.

“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.

In November 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Kolmani Integrated Development Project, marking the start of crude oil drilling in the Kolmani area, located on the border of Bauchi and Gombe states. This was the first time oil exploration began in northern Nigeria.

Following the Kolmani project, the NNPCL announced plans to begin crude oil drilling in Nasarawa State, in Nigeria’s north-central region, by March 2023.

However, the project has since stalled, with no clear explanation provided, prompting calls from Nigerians for accountability and transparency.

In the interview, Ojulari, a northerner himself, expressed surprise at the mixed reactions from some in the region following news of his appointment.

He urged northerners—and Nigerians at large—to support him and offer prayers as he works toward advancing both the region and the nation.