A coalition of about 26 youth associations across the Niger Delta region, Niger Delta Coalition, staged a peaceful protest in Warri, Delta State calling for the immediate sacking of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, over alleged misconducts, among others.
Amidst solidarity songs, members of the coalition in their hundreds, matched from Okumagba Avenue through the major Warri\Sapele road to Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority were they register their grievances, their carried placards with inscriptions including ‘Protect our Nation, President Tinubu sack Mele Kyari now,” among others.
The groups, in a statement jointly signed by National Coordinator of Niger Delta Youth Alliance, Mr Oris Bakpa; National Chairwoman of Niger Delta Women for Change, Bridget Oghenekohwo; President of Niger Delta Youth Empowerment Network, Elvis Abebiyein, and the Regional Coordinator of South-South United Youth Association, Peter Okprgboro.
Addressing journalists during the protest, National Coordinator of Niger Delta Youth Alliance (NDYA), Mr Oris Bakpa, urged President Tinubu to take immediate action, remove Kyari from office, and institute a comprehensive inquiry into his conduct.
He said that the agitation for the removal of the NNPCL boss was premised on the alleged financial impropriety, misuse of authority, lack of vision, poor performance and autocratic conduct, among others.
Bakpa lamented that the inability of the NNPCL to operate the moribund refineries had forced the nation to rely on the importation of petroleum products with the attendant consequences on the economy.
He said that the ripple-versed effect of the over-reliance on the oil industry was visible in the nation’s inflation rates which according to him, had reached a staggering 25.80 per cent in August 2023.
According to him, “The implication of such high inflation figures are far-reaching, encompassing elevated cost of living, discouraging business environment and a palpable instability in the nation’s overall economic well-being”.
Bakpa also noted with concern that there was no increase in crude oil production and remittance to the federation account under the leadership of Kyari.
He spoke further, “Nigeria is blessed with abundant oil resources. Nevertheless, a glaring deficiency within the NNPCL is the presence of dormant refineries scattered across the country.
“The NNPC boasts of four refineries, two in Port Harcourt and one each in Warri and Kaduna. Regrettably, despite the staggering allocation of N100 billion for refinery rehabilitation in 2022, these facilities, with a combined production capacity of 445, 000 barrels per day, have failed to produce any refined products for the past several years.
“Furthermore, the alleged irregularities in the awarding of oil production contracts have cast a shadow of opacity over remittance to the Federation Account giving rise to grave concerns about transparency and accountability in these financial transactions.
“As a collective of concerned and dedicated Niger Delta people, we vow to uphold the law and employ peaceful demonstrations as a means to research President Tinubu to remove Kyari from his position and launch an investigation into the leadership and management of the NNPCL with a view to addressing the urgent issues of the refinery rehabilitation”.
A senior staff in the NMDPRA while responding to the protesters advised them to take their case to Abuja where it would be properly addressed rather than disrupting activities at the NNPC building.
