Fifteen lawmakers, under the umbrella of the Economy Rescue Group, have called for the removal of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari.
The Group, headed by Honourable Esosa Iyawe, asserts that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is suffering difficulties as a result of mismanagement under Kyari’s direction.
The lawmakers in a press statement noted that Kyari and other management personnel were undermining Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. They insisted that Kyari be placed on leave while the joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream and Midstream) of the House of Representatives completed a forensic inquiry.
The lawmakers alleged that the NNPCL’s mismanagement has led to various issues, including the presence of middlemen in trading, indiscriminate issuance of licenses, unavailability of laboratories to check adulterated products, and the influx of adulterated products into the country.
“We the 15 concerned lawmakers state unequivocally that the woes of the Oil and Gas sector in the President Bola Ahmed-led administration are caused mainly by the failures and mismanagement of the NNPLC under Kyari’s management. Therefore, for this to be fixed, they should honourably resign,” the statement read.
The lawmakers further stated that President Tinubu ought to suspend Kyari while the probe is ongoing if he does not step down. They also supported the House’s forensic probe into a number of allegations, such as racketeering, favoritism under the Pro Forma Invoice System regime, and unfair subsidization of PMS and other petroleum products.
With all these happening under Kyari’s watch, the lawmakers concluded that the economy cannot grow.
“It is therefore obvious that the NNPCL management is out to undermine and is already undermining the Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda with incompetence, and they must be suspended to give room for unhindered probe,” they added.
