15 Lawmakers demand resignation of NNPC boss amid probe

Fifteen lawmakers, operating under the banner of The Economy Rescue Group, have called for the resignation of Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The group attributes the economic challenges faced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to mismanagement under Kyari’s leadership.

In a press statement issued in Abuja and signed by Honourable Esosa Iyawe, who represents the Oredo Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, the group insists that Kyari should be suspended pending the outcome of a forensic investigation by the House of Representatives’ joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream and Midstream) into the state of the national oil company and the downstream and midstream sectors.

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The lawmakers accused Kyari and other management staff of the NNPCL of undermining Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through corruption and incompetence. They emphasised that these individuals must be removed from their positions to prevent any potential acts of sabotage during the investigation.

Supporting the House’s forensic investigation into several critical issues, including the presence of middlemen in trading, indiscriminate issuance of licenses, lack of laboratories for checking adulterated products, and the influx of such products into the country, the group advised President Tinubu to suspend the NNPCL leadership until the probe is completed.

“We, the 15 concerned lawmakers, state unequivocally that the woes of the oil and gas sector in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration are caused mainly by the failures and mismanagement of the NNPCL under Kyari’s management. Therefore, for this to be fixed, they should honourably resign,” said Iyawe.

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He added, “In an event they fail to step down on their own, the President should not hesitate to suspend them pending the investigation embarked upon by the House of Representatives through its joint Committee on Petroleum: Downstream and Midstream.”

The statement highlighted several alarming issues uncovered by the House, necessitating the forensic investigation. These issues include the use of middlemen in trading, indiscriminate issuance of licenses, unavailability of laboratories to check for adulterated products, and the influx of such products into the country. There are also concerns about the non-domestication of profits from crude marketing sales in local banks, unfair subsidisation of PMS and other petroleum products, and racketeering and favouritism in the Pro Forma Invoice System (PFI) regime.

The lawmakers further criticised the continuous shifting of timelines for refinery rehabilitation, nefarious activities at petrol depots affecting product distribution and causing scarcity, and the use of middlemen in trading that negatively impacts domestic crude supply. They warned that with such issues persisting under Kyari’s watch, economic growth remains unattainable.

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“It is, therefore, obvious that the NNPCL management is out to undermine and is already undermining Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda with corruption and incompetence. They must be suspended to give room for an unhindered probe,” the lawmakers concluded.

Iyawe recently moved a motion in the House, calling on the Federal Government to suspend the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, pending an investigation into his remarks about the quality of petroleum products at the Dangote Refinery.