A coalition of about 26 youth associations across the Niger Delta region, Niger Delta Coalition, on Wednesday, 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, besieged the entrance of the popular NNPCL building, at about 12:00 noon, to register their grievances, carrying placards with inscriptions including ‘Protect our Nation, President Tinubu sack Mele Kyari now,” among others.
The NNPC building located on the Warri/Sapele Roads harbours the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The protesters also presented a statement cataloguing their grievances to journalists at the event.
The statement was 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, Bakpa, on behalf of the Coalition called on Tinubu to take immediate action to remove Kyari from office and institute a comprehensive inquiry into his conduct.
He told newsmen 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.
“Regrettably, despite the staggering allocation of N100 billion for refinery rehabilitation in 2022, these facilities, with a combined production capacity of 445, 000 bpd 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.
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