By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
PROTESTERS, under the aegis of the Niger Delta Coalition (NDC), has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu immediately sack the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
They said he must be sacked over alleged misconducts and other malfeasance.
Stonix News reports that NDC is a conglomerate of 26 youth associations across the Niger Delta region
The group made the demand in a peaceful protest on Wednesday in Warri, Delta State.
The statement issued at the protest ground was signed by: Mr Oris Bakpa, National Coordinator, Niger Delta Youth Alliance, Bridget Oghenekohwo, National Chairwoman, Niger Delta Women for Change.
Other signatories were; Elvis Abebiyein, President, Niger Delta Youth Empowerment Network and Peter Okprgboro, Regional Coordinator, South South United Youth Association.
The protesters, who were in their hundreds, stormed the entrance of the popular NNPC building at about 12;00 noon to register their grievances accompanied with chanting of solidarity songs.
The NNPC building located on the Warri/Sapele Road is home to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The protesters were armed with placards with inscriptions such as: ‘Protect our Nation, President Tinubu sack Mele Kyari” among others.
Addressing newsmen, Bakpa urged President Tinubu to take immediate action and remove Kyari from office and institute a comprehensive inquiring into his conducts
Bakpa said that the agitation for the removal of the NNPCL’s boss was premised on the alleged financial impropriety, misuse of authority, lack of vision, poor performance and autocratic conducts and among others.
“Nigeria is blessed with abundant oil resources. Nevertheless, a glaring deficiency within the NNPCL is the presence of dormant refineries scattered across the country.
“Regrettably, despite the staggering allocation of N100 billion for refinery rehabilitation in 2022, these facilities, with a combined production capacity of 445, 000 bpd have failed to produce any refined products for the past several years,” he said.
Bakpa lamented that the inability of the NNPCL to operate the moribund refineries had forced the nation to rely on the mindless importation of petroleum products with the attendant consequences on the economy.
He said that the ripple effects of the over reliance on the oil industry was visible in the nation’s inflation rates which, according to him, had reached a staggering 25.80 per cent in August 2023.
“The implication of such high inflation figures are far-reaching, encompassing elevated cost of living, discouraging business environment and a palpable instability in the nation’s overall economic well-beings.
“Furthermore, the alleged irregularities in the awarding of oil production contracts have cast a shadow of opacity over remittance to the Federation Account giving rise to grave concerns about transparency and accountability in these financial transactions.
“As a collective of concerned and dedicated Niger Delta people, we vow to uphold the law and employ peaceful demonstrations as a means to research President Tinubu to remove Kyari from his position.
“And launch an investigation into the leadership and management of the NNPCL with a view to addressing the urgent issues of the refinery rehabilitation,” he said.
Bakpa, however, noted that there was no increase in crude oil production and remittance to the Federation Account under the leadership of Kyari.
Responding, a senior staff in the NMDPRA advised the protesters to take their case to Abuja where it would be properly addressed rather than disrupting activities at NNPC building.
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