An advocacy group, Concerned Citizens Against Corruption, has distanced itself from a petition submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) seeking a probe of former NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
The group described the petition as a smear campaign orchestrated by impostors using its name without authorisation.
The group stated that it had no involvement in the press conference held by individuals who claimed to represent them. According to the group, a certain Comrade Kabir Matazu led the protest and press briefing at the AGF’s office on Tuesday, alleging fraud and irregularities in the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of Nigeria’s refineries during Kyari’s tenure.
“Ordinarily, our association would have ignored this shameless group and their paymasters, but for the avoidance of doubt, we want to state categorically that at no time did we authorise any person or group of persons to speak on our behalf on any issue including the recent infantile attack on former managing director of NNPCL,” the group said in a statement.
Describing the claims as “frivolous and laughable,” the group declared that neither Matazu nor his associates were known to their organisation.
“The so-called Matazu and his co-travellers are not known to our association and therefore cannot use our highly respected association to do the bidding of some unscrupulous and mendacious unpatriotic politicians who are on a vendetta mission,” they added.
The group apologised to Kyari for any reputational harm caused by the actions of the impostors and stated they had taken steps to inform the EFCC and AGF about the misrepresentation. Legal action against the individuals involved was also being considered, they said.
“For the records, we joined other millions of Nigerians who commended Kyari for his efforts in turning around the business fortunes of the company in the five years he was in office,” the group noted, adding that he broke the 25-year jinx of non-performing refineries.
The group also pointed to developments at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, which they said had resumed production activities under Kyari’s leadership, with progress at the Kaduna refinery also underway. They claimed the revival of these facilities challenged the belief that Nigeria’s refineries would remain permanently dormant.
According to the group, this move would surely engender energy security and ensure that Nigeria’s refining capacity could finally begin to meet domestic demand with much more for exports sooner rather than later.
They further highlighted Kyari’s role in securing collaboration between public and private refinery operators, including strategic engagement with the Dangote Refinery.
“This started with a direct investment in Dangote Refinery that not only expanded Nigeria’s refining capabilities but also introduced healthy competition into a previously monopolized industry,” the statement read.
The group acknowledged that Kyari faced challenges during his leadership but insisted he should be recognised for driving reforms.
They cited his efforts in commercialising NNPCL, increasing transparency, and aligning with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as key milestones.
“Even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be shocked at the outburst of this faceless group against Kyari, who, while dissolving the NNPCL board led by him, noted the achievements of the board,” the group said.
They urged law enforcement authorities to arrest those behind the false representation and reaffirmed their support for Kyari’s contributions to the oil and gas sector.
“Let the EFCC and AGF disregard the petition. It did not come from us, and we are taking steps to ensure those responsible are brought to justice,” the group said.
