Fifteen lawmakers, under the aegis of The Economy Rescue Group, have called for the resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari.
The group, led by Honourable Esosa Iyawe, claims that mismanagement under Kyari’s leadership is responsible for the challenges facing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
In a press statement, the lawmakers accused Kyari and other management staff of undermining Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. They insisted that Kyari should be suspended, pending the outcome of a forensic investigation by the House of Representatives’ joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream and Midstream).
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 added that if Kyari fails to resign, President Tinubu should suspend him pending the investigation. They also backed the House’s forensic investigation into various allegations, including unfair subsidization of PMS and other petroleum products, racketeering, and favouritism in the Pro Forma Invoice System regime.
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.
