NNPC Names Odeh & Adewunmi to Lead Reputation and Stakeholder Strategy
Abuja — NNPC Limited is refreshing its public-facing engine room, appointing Andy Odeh as Chief Corporate Communications Officer and Morenike Adewunmi as Chief Relations Officer. The move tightens the company’s grip on reputation, regulatory diplomacy, host-community trust, and investor signalling at a time when Nigeria’s oil-and-gas market is being rewritten by PIA implementation, deregulation, gas-led growth, refinery restart dynamics, and intense public scrutiny.
NNPC’s brand and licence-to-operate now live where policy, price and public sentiment intersect. That is why these two appointments matter:
The Profiles That Fit the Moment
- Andy Odeh — Chief Corporate Communications Officer
A 30+ year communications leader straddling oil & gas, advertising, and broadcasting, Odeh spent 26 years at NLNG rotating through Community Relations & Development, Logistics, IM/IT, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Government Relations/Regulatory Compliance, and ultimately GM, External Relations & Sustainable Development. His playbook spans corporate rebrands, award-grade campaigns, energy journalism development (e.g., the NLNG Prize for Energy Reporting) and community micro-credit models. Translation: he understands technical operations, national reputation risk, and how storytelling shapes market confidence. - Morenike Adewunmi — Chief Relations Officer
A 25+ year legal and external-affairs specialist forged in the Shell Companies in Nigeria, Adewunmi has run Regulatory Affairs (permits, statutory engagements) and Government Relations (Presidency/MDAs), with a distinctive focus on non-technical risk (NTR)—the silent balance-sheet items such as community friction, activist pressure, regulatory opacity, and project delays. Think of her as the deal-maker between policy, projects and people.
Why NNPC Needs This Now
- PIA-era expectations: As a Companies and Allied Matters-style entity, NNPC Ltd must compete on transparency, discipline and delivery—not just mandates.
- Refinery & midstream optics: Turnaround projects, supply security, and gas pipelines need predictable communications and constructive government/host-community relations to hold schedule and capex.
- Market-moving narratives: FX, pricing templates, crude evacuation, theft mitigation, product availability—each can swing sentiment. Precision matters.
- ESG & transition scrutiny: Methane, spills, decommissioning, local content and energy access require evidence-based disclosure that lenders and offtakers can trust.
What “Great” Looks Like (12-Month Scorecard)
- Single Source of Truth:
- Publish quarterly performance notes (operations, product supply, project milestones, ESG metrics).
- Real-time myth-busting hub for market rumours.
- Publish quarterly performance notes (operations, product supply, project milestones, ESG metrics).
- Stakeholder Diplomacy 2.0:
- Structured GR calendar with Presidency/MDAs, state houses, legislature.
- Community compacts: grievance redress dashboards, employment/contracting transparency, measurable social-investment ROIs.
- Structured GR calendar with Presidency/MDAs, state houses, legislature.
- Crisis Readiness:
- 60-minute response SLAs; incident playbooks that protect life, environment, and reputation.
- Media simulations with business continuity drills.
- 60-minute response SLAs; incident playbooks that protect life, environment, and reputation.
- Data-Led Trust:
- Open, verifiable KPIs: product supply days, evacuation availability, downtime drivers, methane/spill stats, local content spend.
- Third-party assurance on selected disclosures.
- Open, verifiable KPIs: product supply days, evacuation availability, downtime drivers, methane/spill stats, local content spend.
- Narrative of Value:
- Show how NNPC’s actions de-risk supply, unlock gas, support FX earnings, grow Nigerian content, and anchor jobs—with numbers.
- Show how NNPC’s actions de-risk supply, unlock gas, support FX earnings, grow Nigerian content, and anchor jobs—with numbers.
By the Numbers (at a glance)
- Odeh: 30+ years comms; 26 years at NLNG across ER/SD, GR/Regulatory, Corp Comms, Community.
- Adewunmi: 25+ years legal/external affairs at Shell, specialising in regulatory management, GR, and non-technical risk.
Strategic Upside (If Executed Well)
- Lower cost of controversy: Faster, fact-rich communication reduces policy risk premia and supply-chain uncertainty.
- Project velocity: Fewer stoppages from permits, protests, or misinformation, improving schedule adherence and unit costs.
- Investor confidence: Clear disclosures and credible stakeholder engagement signal governance quality, useful for joint-venture alignment and capital access.
- Community dividend: Transparent local value creation stabilises host environments and reduces security overheads.
Risks to Manage (and How)
- Message without muscle: Comms cannot outrun operations; align statements with deliverables (supply, maintenance windows, KPIs).
- Information asymmetry: Build a data pipeline from operations to comms/relations so facts beat rumours.
- Fragmented voices: Enforce one-voice protocols; align subsidiaries/JVs/regulators on talking points without stifling truth.
BRANDECONOMY Take
NNPC is professionalising the two levers that most determine its social and commercial room to operate—reputation and relationships. In Odeh and Adewunmi, the company is pairing storytelling with statecraft: one converts complex operations into credibility; the other converts complex politics into permits and peace. Get this right and NNPC’s biggest gains will show up quietly in fewer disruptions, steadier supply, safer projects, and cheaper capital.
Bottom line: In today’s energy market, operational excellence needs a diplomatic spine. These appointments of Odeh & Adewunmi, hopefully,give NNPC both.
