Why Mele Kyari, NNPC boss must stay, group reveals

• A civil society group has called for calm and understanding amid calls for the sack of NNPC Group CEO Mele Kyari
• The group, under the aegis of the Forum of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, condemned calls for Kyari’s removal
• They say the NNPC boss has performed excellently and is entirely in tune with Tinubu’s agenda

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

The Forum of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria has condemned recent calls to remove Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari, describing it as baseless and malicious. 

At a press conference held at the NUJ Press Center in Utako, Abuja, Comrade Friday Maduka, Chairman of the Forum, addressed the allegations against Kyari, describing them as "laughable, comical, and unfortunate in the superlative degree."

Group Chief Executive Officer, Maele Kyari Credit: Bloomberg/Contributor
Source: UGC

CSOs canvass support for Kyari

Maduka urged Nigerians to remain calm and supportive of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration, which he praised for its ongoing efforts to re-engineer the nation's polity. 

He asserted that the recent criticisms of Kyari resulted from a coordinated disinformation campaign by individuals with ulterior motives.

He said:

"The National Coordinating Convention (NCC) of the Forum of Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria, after thorough investigation and deliberation, has resolved to give Mele Kyari a clean bill of health."Our findings reveal that the allegations against him are grossly unfounded and driven by financial interests."Given his unequal and unprecedented achievements in compassionate, progressive governance in steering the ship of the NNPC to its manifest destiny, oblivious of the activities of the fifth column within and extraneous enemies without, Mele Kyari deserves salutation and commendation and not condemnation. "And what about Mele Kyari? A round peg in a round hole who has since taken his well-deserved place in the leadership pantheon of the Oil industry in Nigeria, Africa, and Global greats.”

Kyari is in sync with Tinubu’s agenda

According to him, Kyari is fully in tandem with his mandate and meticulously and assiduously coordinating his act with the policies and targets devised by the federal government, the policy direction of the existing progressive renewed hope administration, and all the Geo-consequential and relevant extant laws that govern oil industry operations. 

He said the NNPC boss is running with a progressive vision and has always supported that vision despite the structures of the Nigerian system and the bureaucratic red tape of specific sectors of the oil industry. 

Given their fixation with the Dangote Group's cries of frustration, we smell a rat. Our detailed observations clarify that certain factors who are not prepared to endure the scrutiny of their untoward, irregular actions and underhand deals are crying Wolf in the absence of any wolf. 

Kyari is not sabotaging refineries.

"The ill-informed case of sabotage against the take-off of the government-owned refinery and that of the Dangote Group refinery is tantamount to an Alice in the Wonderland fairy Tale, given that Mele Kyari has sufficed by word and deed as the greatest bastion of support for the resumption of Petroleum Production in the nation."

Akbar Abubakar, the Forum's general secretary, echoed Maduka's sentiments, emphasizing that the Forum's investigation concluded that the allegations against Kyari were part of a smear campaign. 

The Forum called on Nigerians to disregard the unfounded allegations and support Kyari's efforts to transform the NNPC and the nation's oil sector. 

They also urged Kyari to remain focused on his mandate and continue to drive the progressive vision for Nigeria's oil industry.

NNPC set date to launch $700 million gas project

Legit.ng previously reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) plans to deliver the Obiafu-Obriku-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project by August this year, driving industrialization and economic growth.

NNPC’s group chief executive, Mele Kyari, inspected the mega project in Delta State on Saturday, June 22, 2024, and affirmed the imminent completion of the project.

Kyari said that the project would add value to Nigeria upon completion, and about 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas would enter the network.

Source: Legit.ng