A Nigerian businesswoman previously named in the ongoing corruption trial of former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is now reportedly exerting influence across major Nigerian federal agencies, including the state-owned oil company.
Olatimbo Ayinde, who is rumoured to have a close personal relationship with President Bola Tinubu, was among Alison-Madueke’s associates accused of involvement in a high-profile bribery case in 2015.
Sources familiar with developments within the Presidency say Ayinde is regarded as a close adviser to Tinubu and has reportedly built influence across top government institutions, particularly in the maritime and energy sectors.
“In fact, she is an arrow-head in the planned ousting of Bayo Ojulari as the NNPC Chair,” a source disclosed adding that the recent wave of media pressure is part of Ayinde’s plan to install a preferred figure at the helm of the NNPC.
Another insider suggested that even NNPC board directors have become sidelined due to Ayinde’s apparent access to the President.
“The board directors are in fact incapacitated because Ms Ayinde has the ears of the President and there seems to be no limit to her influence at this time,” the source claimed. It should be recalled that Ojulari, who had only spent five months in office, was recently the subject of resignation rumours which later proved to be unfounded.
Ayinde was known to be an associate of former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was arrested in London in 2015 and charged in 2023 with six bribery offences. Since stepping down, Alison-Madueke has lived under police bail in St John’s Wood, a wealthy area of the UK capital.
The prosecutor also said she was alleged to have accepted a wide range of advantages in cash and in kind from people who wanted to receive or continue to receive the award of oil contracts which he said were worth billions of dollars in total.
According to the documents presented before a UK court, where Alison-Madueke is standing trial, Ayinde reportedly paid a former NNPC GMD, Ibe Kachikwu, large sums in August 2015 with the intention of influencing his capacity as a public official.
Ayinde’s alleged links to criminal financial activity predate the Diezani scandal. In 2013, she was declared wanted by Nigerian police in connection with a fuel subsidy payment fraud.
At the time, Ayinde was Managing Director of Tubbs Marine & Energy Limited. A petition submitted to the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit (SFU), by the Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy Payments, detailed the alleged fraud.
The petition stated that Eurafric Oil and Coastal Services Limited had received import permits for petroleum products (PMS) between 2010 and 2011 and claimed to have imported over 85 million litres. Based on this, the company received N6.13 billion in subsidy payments.
However, investigations reportedly revealed that Eurafric did not carry out the importation but instead transferred the permit to Tubbs Marine for N65 million.
“The wanted suspect, AYINDE OLATIMBO BUKOLA, the Managing Director of Tubbs Marine & Energy Limited did not import any product based on the permit but fraudulently conspired with others at large and arranged forged documents with which he applied and received payment of over N2Billion as subsidy claims thereby defrauding the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the police bulletin signed by DSP Ngozi Isintume-Agu read.
It remains unclear whether Ayinde or her company were ever prosecuted or cleared of the subsidy fraud allegations.
Following the collapse of Tubbs, Ayinde reportedly established a new oil exploration company, Dutchford E&P.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Ayinde presents herself as a seasoned oil and gas expert with more than 17 years of experience across energy, maritime, logistics, and infrastructure sectors. She has been listed as Managing Director of Dutchford since 2021.
However, the company has not been free from controversy. In 2024, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) publicly accused Dutchford E&P of using armed security operatives to harass oil workers.
In a statement signed by Festus Osifo, President of PENGASSAN, and Lumumba Okugbawa, the union’s General Secretary, the association condemned the use of military force on its members.
“They are hired by Dutchford E&P, Selective Marine Services and its Labour Contractors against oil and gas workers at the Oritsetimeyin Oil and Gas Rig,” PENGASSAN said.
“This act negates the tenets of the Nigerian Constitution and all extant laws governing the operations in the nation’s oil and gas sector.”
Attempts to reach Ms Ayinde for comment were unsuccessful as of press time.