…Ojulari, company boss, charges staff to win Oil Industry Games

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

The 14th edition of the NNPC Ltd. Sports Fiesta came to a thrilling end last weekend at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, with the Company’s Team Integrity emerging the overall best team topping the final medals table of the week-long tournament.

Team Integrity, featuring sportsmen and women from the Company’s Port Harcourt & Benin Zones, emerged the winner with a total of 31 gold, 18 silver and 21 bronze medals, while also winning nine trophies overall.

Coming second is Team Sustainability, featuring sportsmen and women from NNPC’s Abuja and Kaduna zones, winning a total of 15 gold, 26 silver and 23 bronze medals. Team Excellence, featuring sportsmen and women from the Company’s Lagos and Warri zones emerged third, with a total of 13 gold, 16 silver and 19 bronze medals.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the sports fiesta, the Group CEO, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the performance of the athletes as a brilliant reminder that NNPC Ltd can win on the field and in the marketplace through the virtues of resilience, teamwork and excellence.

He challenged the athletes on the expectations of the management, stressing that NNPC Ltd looks forward to defending its legendary status as the team to beat during the forthcoming 20th Nigeria Oil & Gas Industry Games (NOGIG) in February 2026.

The Company boss further noted that there was ample evidence the athletes emerging from the fiesta will carry the Company’s winning legacy forward.

“Let the discipline you showed throughout these games elevate our performance; let the unity you built here strengthen our teamwork; let the excellence you demonstrated become our daily standard,” the GCEO charged.

Equally speaking at the closing ceremony, the Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, noted that judging by what she saw at the week-long fiesta, “NNPC Ltd is not just going to participate at the forthcoming NOGIG, but also going to make a strong impression.”

This 14th edition of the NNPC Sports Fiesta, which has as its theme “Energy in Motion: Compete, Connect & Celebrate”, saw a total of 450 athletes participating, to symbolize NNPC Ltd’s belief in the integral role of physical well-being in enhancing organizational productivity among employees.

During the keenly contested fiesta, the sportsmen and women competed in 13 sports, comprising football, basketball, volleyball, chess, squash, scrabble, 8-ball pool, golf, tennis, table tennis, badminton, swimming and athletics.

The fiesta also served as a platform for selecting NNPC Ltd’s potential flag bearers at the forthcoming NOGIG Games, where the Company will defend its title of overall winner, a feat it has maintained over the years.

Also speaking, Andy Odeh, Chief Corporate Communications Officer

NNPC Ltd, described NNPC Ltd as a serial winner of the NOGIG Games, which also features other participating teams from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria and key agencies under the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

During the last edition of NOGIG held in 2024 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, NNPC Ltd emerged the overall winner of the tournament, carting home 50 laurels, which included 20 gold, 9 silver and 21 bronze medals.