A group of fifteen lawmakers, known as The Economy Rescue Group, has called for the resignation of Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The lawmakers allege that Kyari’s leadership has caused significant challenges for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a press statement released on Tuesday in Abuja, Esosa Iyawe, leader of the group and representative of Oredo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, emphasized the need for Kyari’s immediate suspension. This demand comes amid a forensic investigation by the House of Representatives’ Joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream and Midstream) into the operations of the NNPCL.
The lawmakers argue that Kyari and his management team are hindering President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. They insist on the suspension of Kyari until the investigation is completed to prevent any potential acts of sabotage.
The group strongly supports the House’s forensic investigation, which focuses on several critical issues within the oil and gas sector. These include the role of middlemen in trading, the indiscriminate issuance of licenses, the lack of laboratories to check for adulterated products, and the influx of such products into the country. They also highlight concerns about the non-domestication of profits from crude marketing sales in local banks and other serious anomalies.
The statement from the group reads: “We, the 15 concerned lawmakers, state unequivocally that the woes of the oil and gas sector in the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration are caused mainly by the failures and mismanagement of the NNPCL under Kyari’s management. Therefore, to resolve these issues, they should honourably resign.”
The lawmakers further allege that the unfair subsidization of petroleum products, rampant racketeering, and favoritism within the Pro Forma Invoice System (PFI) regime have all contributed to a lack of competitiveness in the sector. They also cite issues such as the return of PMS price intervention, product unavailability, ongoing delays in refinery rehabilitation, and the detrimental activities at petrol depots as reasons for their call for Kyari’s suspension.
Esosa Iyawe recently moved a motion in the House urging the Federal Government to suspend Farouk Ahmed, the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, pending an investigation into his comments regarding the quality of petroleum products at Dangote Refinery. In a related move, Iyawe also called on the government to renovate and convert abandoned buildings and forfeited land for public use.
The group maintains that without decisive action, the management of the NNPCL will continue to undermine President Tinubu’s economic plans, hindering the growth and development of the nation’s economy.
