‘Buhari must purge NNPCL of corruption to restore sanity in oil sector’

The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately purge the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) of corrupt and incompetent leadership to find lasting solutions to the problems in the petroleum industry.

The CNPP, however, commended the move by the President to end the lingering fuel scarcity in country by setting up a 14-man Steering Committee to look into the supply and distribution chain of petroleum products in the country.

In a statement issued by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, yesterday, the CNPP noted that “as desirable as the step taken by President Muhammadu Buhari may be, the first step to salvage the oil sector is to cleanse the newly incorporated NNPC Limited of the inherited corrupt management team who are currently overseeing the company.”

The CNPP further noted that “it is impossible to have the same people, who created the problem that manifests today as fuel scarcity, find solution to the problem which was created due to incompetence and intention to corruptly enrich a few.”

It added: “Today, NNPC has opened another channel for siphoning taxpayers’ money by venturing into road construction when the company has been unable to meet Nigeria’s OPEC oil production supply quota and has denied the country of the needed foreign exchange.

“The ripple effect of the inability of the current NNPC Limited’s management to earn foreign exchange for Nigeria is the prevailing forex scarcity, leading to continuous crash of the naira against the United States dollar.

“Therefore, if the Mallam Mele Kyari-led NNPC cannot get a single refinery in Nigeria working in nearly eight years, how can it solve the current problem of fuel scarcity?

“If President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking to end his tenure with enduring legacy in the oil industry in Nigeria, it’s about time he got rid of the current Mele Kyari-led NNPC Limited.

“Our position remains that President Buhari inaugurated and reinforced corruption the day he unveiled the new NNPC.

“The perennial fuel scarcity in the country is man-made through deliberate policies by the Mallam Mele Kyari-led NNPC management team.

“We are glad that the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies are part of the committee but the committee will produce little or no positive result if the current NNPC leadership remains in office.”